The Polymorphmagis
by M.M. Wilcox
Summary: Blyana Evelyn Cultivire, a girl from America, is starting her first year at Hogwarts. Of course, she is thrilled to practice magic, make new friends, and learn all about the world her father had been apart of, but what will happen when she meets a fellow student that has too many secrets to count? Will she unravel the mystery of Kiera Snape, or will this riddle remain unsolved?
1. The Acceptance

**Hey! So, second fanfic on this site for me, exciting! I know I haven't finished the Wanderer quite yet, but don't worry! It's my first priority! This story is a collaboration with my friend who is unfortunately not on this site, so I volunteered to post it for both of us. This is, obviously, a Hogwarts fanfiction. The chapters switch POV throughout the story, but I'll put who's talking so you don't get confused. **

**Neither I nor my friend owns the rights to Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns all familiar characters. Kiera (My OC), Blyana (Friend's OC), their parents, and a few other characters belong to me and my friend.**

**Please do enjoy and review!**

* * *

_**KIERA**_

* * *

I was _not _brooding the afternoon I received my Hogwarts letter; I was simply deep in thought whilst angry with my guardian. Said guardian was in the basement, probably concocting some poison for whatever reason. It was probably wise to remain well away from me due to my abrupt early awakening. I've been told I'm a complete monster when awoken early. It was probably true.

Before I could angrily stare at the old fashioned stove any more, a pecking of glass alerted me to the brown owl at the window seal. Used to the arrival of such creatures, I opened the window for the bird and it swooped in. I noticed a letter tightly clenched in its beak, so once it had settled on the counter, I took the letter and gave the feathered animal a treat as a reward.

Upon the letter were my name and my exact address. Turning it over, I found the Hogwarts seal. I couldn't help but smile. It was finally here. My acceptance letter to Hogwarts and my ticket to magical learning.

I clambered from my chair with a lack of grace that would have earned me scolding from my guardian, but I didn't care; I was far too excited to do so. The owl, surprised by my sudden movement, squawked annoyingly, then flew off through the window.

"What was that?" My guardian called up from the basement where his lab was located. I didn't hear his footsteps up the stairs, so it clearly wasn't important enough to stop his brewing.

"Letter to Hogwarts came," I yelled back at him. I waited, but he didn't come into the kitchen, despite my exciting announcement. Obviously not important enough for him.

I quickly ripped the letter open and eagerly read the words contained within. I skipped over the introduction and looked at the date school began. September 1st. That was soon. I would have to hurry with getting supplies and whatnot. But I was thrilled nonetheless.\

* * *

The very next day, I decided to take my trip to Diagon Alley, the shopping district of the wizard or witch of England. My guardian couldn't come with me; we weren't allowed to be seen together in public due to some, uh… unfortunate circumstances. But it was fine by me; I definitely didn't need him leering over my shoulder at every shop.

Taking some floo powder we kept next to the fireplace in the sitting room, I threw it into the fire and stepped into the flames as they turned green. "Diagon Alley," I said forcefully, pronouncing every syllable to avoid ending up in the wrong fireplace. With a flash of green light and a tug, I landed in the Leaky Cauldron. I stepped out of the fireplace in a daze, the many fireplaces that flashed by while traveling by floo always made me quite dizzy.

Once the dizziness faded, I took a look at the old pub while dusting the ash off my royal purple robes. It was dark, much like my own home, but much filthier. Multiple tables riddled the room and a bar with a man cleaning glasses behind the bar was what decorated the main room. Stairs led upstairs, but that was not my destination today. I briskly walked past the few people that sat at the tables and made my way to the bar. Due to the fact I did not yet have a wand, I would have to have the landlord open up the entrance to the alley for me.

"Excuse me," I said politely, though slightly annoyed as the bartender still ignored me to talk to one of the men at the bar. "Excuse me." This time I was louder and caught the bartender, Tom's, attention.

"Ahh, what can I do for you, little miss?" He leaned over the bar and looked at me as though I didn't stand higher than the stools. I wasn't _that_ short.

"I need you to open the entrance to Diagon Alley for me," I told him rather shortly.

"Don't ya have an adult or something to do it for you?" He asked suspiciously.

"No, he couldn't make it. Now, entrance, please." My tone was ruder before and that seemed to spur the landlord into action. He leads me to the back door, into a courtyard surrounded by stone. He took his wand out with an unnecessary flourish and began to tap the stones in a practiced manner. The tapping seemed random, but I had been to the alley enough times to know it was a pattern and very important to get your shopping done.

When the landlord finished his tapping, the bricks on the wall moved out of the way to reveal a long cobblestone alley. Shops lined the road with signs brightly displaying what lay inside, witches and wizards walked, or in some cases ran, up and down the road. I was glad to see it wasn't as crowded as it would have been closer to the beginning of September. Needless to say, I wasn't too thrilled to be around people, but I suppose I would have to get used to it once at Hogwarts.

I nodded curtly to Tom the landlord and quickly walked into the hustle and bustle of Diagon Alley. My first thought was to go to Ollivanders, but I had to go to Gringotts to extract money from the family vault. Unfortunately, it was at the very end of the walk and I would have to push through the large crowd to access the magical bank. I sincerely hoped I wouldn't run into anyone that knew me.

My less than average size made it difficult to rush past the eager shoppers, but I finally managed to climb the steps up to the marble building run by goblins. The smooth marble glistened in the afternoon sun, but I did not stay to admire the grandness of it. The goblin at the door grinned evilly at me as he opened the large doors. I ignored him and continued, though I found his grin quite creepy. Another set of doors opened and I was faced with the grand hall of the building with its many stalls for goblins to do business with you.

I walked up to the nearest available goblin and quietly coughed to get his attention. He looked up with a sneer on his face, unappreciative of the interruption.

"I would like to make a withdrawal from the Prince vault," I told him evenly, meeting the glare he had leveled at me.

"Do you have the key?" He growled. I nodded and took out said key from my robes.

"Grognok," the goblin at the counter said sharply. A smaller and less menacing goblin appeared in front of the counter and held out his hand for the key. I gave it to him without question, then he scampered off to lead me down into the deep vaults. Following swiftly, I was led into the dark caverns in which thousands of wizard vaults were located. I tried to gracefully jump into the cart that Grognok already sat in, but I managed to trip over the ledge and land headfirst into the carriage. I heard the goblin snort. Just my luck, getting laughed at by a goblin because of my clumsiness.

Luckily, my guardian did not risk waking me early today, otherwise, I may have snapped at the goblin. I settled into a seating position as Grognok pulled a lever and the cart began to race off down the rail. Despite myself, I gripped onto the sides of the cart as we descended lower and lower underground. As suddenly as the cart moved, it stopped and I jolted forward, barely stopping myself from smacking into the goblin.

Still a little shaky from the ride, I stumbled out of the cart and onto the solid rock in front of the family vault. Thankfully, the vault was old enough to be one of the first vaults ever given to wizards, so it was near the top of the deep cavern.

I straightened myself and watched as Grognok opened the vault. He placed the key in the keyhole and the door swung open after much creaking and groaning of magic. Inside was just as I expected. Several large piles of gold towered over the just as impressive towers of silver and bronze coins. My guardian kept the vault well stocked in case of emergency, though I don't know what emergency could arise that would require that much gold.

I took out a mokeskin pouch and began to scoop up as much coins that could fit in it, which was quite a lot due to the charm placed on it.

"I do believe that should be enough for this year and more," I muttered to myself. Despite adding so much to my own pouch, I barely made a dent in the piles and piles of money. I stood up and nimbly walked back outside the vault. The goblin closed, clambered into the cart, and we left, much to my relief. I didn't enjoy going underground all that much, but where else could you hide so many rooms full of money?

After reaching the surface and taking my key back from Grognok, I maneuvered my way through the streets to Ollivander's, the best wand shop in all of Britain. The grin on my face was clearly evident as I entered the old shop. I handed waited all my life to wield a wand, sure I had taken my guardians for a quick wave or two before, but it was nothing like owning your own wand. As I had heard and read many times in my life, the wand chooses the wizard.

Inside the shop, it was dark and stacks of black boxes littered the room. A few particular towers looked in danger of toppling over, so I avoided going near those as I walked in. A small counter and a few chairs was the only furniture. It was crowded and dusty, and I had to fight the urge to sneeze. On the counter was a small bell and as I looked around the shop, I couldn't see Ollivander amongst the tall towers of what I guessed to be wand boxes.

I decided it would be best to ring the bell and as soon as I did so, an old man popped up from the counter, making me jump. His frizzy, curly hair was stark white with age and it stuck up in every direction.

"Ahhh… you look to be a Prince, though I do see some Coltivire in you. Yes, yes. Rather odd combination, not to be expected though. I remember your mother. Quite a woman she was, maple wood, unicorn hair core, 12 inches, quite inflexible," the man rambled and I just stared at him. How could he remember my mother, she had received her wand years ago, and she was dead. "Never met your father though, rather hoped I would. Unfortunate squib, he was, but I suppose it would have been that muggle father of his."

"Wh-what?" I stammered, finally coming to my senses.

"Ah, yes! Kiera Snape, I believe?" He asked, seeming to forget everything he just said.

"Yeah, that's me, but you were talking about my parents?" I asked hopefully. I never heard anything about my parents, it might have been too painful for my guardian to discuss, or maybe too embarrassing.

"I was? Oh dear, rambling again, I suppose. Nothing to worry about, you're here to get a wand!" This man, Ollivander I think he was, was very confusing. Perhaps spending so much time alone making wands could do that to you. "Let me see, let me see. Measurements."

He took out his wand and flicked it at a tape measure that was on the counter. It sprung to life, unwound itself and began to measure my height, pinky size, forearm length, and so much more that seemed kind of useless to me. Ollivander watched the process, muttering to himself the whole time. I was quite sure he was a bit off his rocker.

"Right, right, that's enough of that. Don't get too eager," Ollivander shouted at the tape, which was currently measuring how long my hair was. It suddenly fell limp to the ground, lifeless.

"Hmmm… perhaps maple, like your mother. And maybe dragon heartstring…" the wizard trailed off, then disappeared into the back of the store. I felt awkward, standing alone in the dark store, but Ollivander came back soon with a black box.

"Try this, maple wood, dragon heartstring, 11 inches, swishy." He took a wand out of the box and gave it to me. "Give it a wave." I did so, and a bright burst of fire erupted from the tip of the wand, nearly setting Ollivander's hair on fire. He patted his head thoughtfully, putting out the fire, and took the wand back from me. "No, no. Much too temperamental."

He disappeared again, and when he came back a small jingling from the shops door rang through the shop. I didn't turn to see who had entered, I was too interested in this next wand Ollivander handed me. He didn't tell me what kind it was, so I picked it up. The wand suddenly grew red hot as it began to glow dangerously, and I dropped it with a yelp before it could burn me.

"Looks like that's not the right one either, let me look one more time." The old man shuffled behind the piles of boxes. "Now try this one." He gave me the next one. I cautiously picked up the wand, afraid it would burn me again.

The tip of the wand began to glow, as though I had just cast _Lumos. _My eyes grew wide as the wand started to vibrate slightly, but not in an uncomfortable way.

"This one is glowing, does that mean anything?" I asked excitedly. Perhaps this is the one, my wand.

"Indeed, indeed, an odd combination, just like you, my dear. Hawthorn wood, phoenix feather core, 13 inches and unyielding flexibility. Yes, yes, it fits you well. Quite well in fact. Seven galleons will be all," Ollivander jibbered. I reached into my pouch to grab the needed amount while Ollivander took my wand and put it into a box. I gave him the money and took the box from him, the excitement I had sent shivers down my spine and the small smile on my face expressed what words couldn't.

While I exited the shop I saw the person who had entered while I was trying out wands. She had the whitest hair, like freshly fallen snow, and I found it peculiar. I brushed it from my mind as I walked out into the open air; it wasn't anything all that important.

I breathed in a mouthful of fresh air, glad to be out of the dusty shop; I doubted Ollivander cleaned all that much, not that he would have much time I suppose. Before I ran off into the next shop, I took out the letter with the shopping list to see what else I needed. _Three Sets of Plain Work Robes (Black)_, I read from the letter. I knew Madam Malkin's sold robes, so I hurried down the street to find the shop.

For July 31st, Diagon Alley was surprisingly busy, and it was a fact that I did not appreciate. I just sincerely hope I wouldn't have to talk to anyone I knew, not that there were many people who fit in that category, but they were all pains in the behind.

Finally, I made it to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, and just my luck, a pale boy with blond hair stepped out right as I was about to step in. I barely had enough time to put on an indifferent expression before the boy turned his eyes on me.

He recognized me almost immediately and his eyes narrowed. "Snape, what are you doing here?" The pale boy had a habit to call everyone by their last name, much like my dearest guardian.

"I'm simply shopping for school supplies, Malfoy," I answered him coldly, biting back a smart remark, one that would surely earn me a smack on the back of the head by my exasperated guardian.

"Then you shall be going to Hogwarts, I suppose," he sneered and I could tell he was having the same problem as I. Due to rather unfortunate circumstances, we weren't allowed to be rude to each other in front of adults. With one last menacing look at each other, Malfoy stalked off, his pointed nose held high. What I would give to punch that stupidly cute, no, _not_ cute, smirk off his face.

I took a deep breath to calm my anger, then stepped into the robe shop. A boy, obviously in his first year as well from his short stature, stood on a pedestal as Madam Malkin took his measurements. She turned when I opened the door, then smiled when she saw who it was. I had often come to Madam Malkin's before, seeing how I had to purchase all my clothes by myself since it would look suspicious if my guardian bought them.

"Miss Snape, you'll be starting your first year, won't you?" Madam Malkin, a small witch in purple robes with gray hair, said happily at my entrance.

"Yes, madam. I'll be needing some robes, if it's not too much trouble," I told her politely. I always liked Madam Malkin, even though she was easily flustered with too much action.

"Not at all, dear. Just let me finish with this young man here and I'll be right with you," she said cheerily. I nodded and settled myself in one of the waiting chairs. Since I would have to wait, I decided to use this time to study the boy Madam Malkin was measuring. His messy black hair and glasses blocked the top half of his head, but I could clearly see the small frown on his face, obviously from his small encounter with Malfoy.

Madam Malkin finished quickly and the boy gladly stepped down from the stool. With a quick glance in my direction, the boy hurried out of the shop with a bundle of robes in his arms. After he left, I stepped onto the stool he had previously occupied. Madam Malkin made quick work of my measurements, magically made the robes, and sent me on my way with a small plate of my favorite cookies, oatmeal raisin, she had snuck into my arms along with my uniform and other things needed for my schooling.

I checked my list once more, then hurried to Flourish and Blotts for my books. I didn't wish to remain any longer in Diagon Alley, in fear of running into Draco Malfoy, or worse, his parents. After Flourish and Blotts, I gathered the other equipment needed, skipping over a cauldron since I already owned one. I was able to finish the rest of my shopping fast, and headed back to the Leaky Cauldron to return home.


	2. The Totally Awesome Hogwarts Letter!

_**BLYANA**_

* * *

The night sky was above me, the crisp air was creating a slight redness to my nose, but today is not a very cold day. The days in Alaska weren't too shabby for an extremely cold state. During my summer days, I spent time my grandma's house because all my mom does is work all day and sometimes night. I rarely have even seen my mom, because she wants to become the richest mom in the world. For all I care she could become the richest person in the world. At school, I'd normally have a couple of friends, but they don't count if they don't talk to you, so then I normally have no friends except my grandma who only wants to teach me about the millions of potions that she has created to kill people in the wizarding world.

Now that I'm finally eleven, I shall just wait for the letter to be sent to my house all the way across the world. This Hogwarts school is my final and only chance to make friends in my life, so I'll make it count.

I saw a white figure gliding in the wind with a letter in its beak. It landed next to me, dropping the letter on my stomach and then fluttered away.

The letter had the Hogwarts seal on it along with my name. I quickly opened it up and revealed all the information needed for the wonderful adventure about to come.

"G-g time to fly back to the U.K. mom's expecting me!" I yelled with excitement, moving with my swift cross country moves. I slid the wooden door open to the warm homey cabin, with a THUD.

"Now what!" The woman had an apron on and was extremely skinny and young-looking and acting to be seventy-five. With her long braided dirty blond hair, she turned her face towards me. "You're interrupting my broccoli and cheese soup making." My grandma was very strict when it came to her cooking.

"I finally got my Hogwarts letter! I got it from an owl just like you said it would!" She looked puzzled, but I couldn't figure out why.

"You sure it's for you?" I nodded vigorously, "Well then, who knew an owl would come all the way to the U.S. to give you a letter." The lady put her hand out, I gave her the letter.

She continued to stare at the letter with her pretty hazelnut eyes.

"Well, we are going to visit your mother. Pack your things, you have a long journey ahead of you."

She gave me a smile that I hadn't seen in a very long time. That means she really wanted to get rid of me and probably wouldn't let me come back for the holidays, and I was completely fine with that.

I ran down to the basement, also known as my oversized bedroom, grabbed all of my cutest clothes, toiletries, my favorite jewelry, my list of things I wanted to get at Diagon Alley and stuffed it all in my 3d unicorn backpack.

Suddenly I realized I hadn't even read the letter! I ran upstairs and got the letter and quickly went back down to my bed. The letter said that I only had a couple of weeks to prepare for the adventure of my life. I couldn't wait to see a real live unicorn! My energy was about to get very high, and when my energy was high, I go crazy. I think I have ADHD, but every time I tell my grandma she said it was just a witch thing.

Anyway, I opened the letter for the second time and saw my train ticket for nine and three quarters and started to squeal. Then I started to read the intro:

Dear, Blyana Cultivire….

I kind of got bored after Dear. After the intro, I saw the long list of supplies for school, and I thought my list was long. I asked my grandma if we were going to use floo powder to get to Diagon Alley or something else, she said we were going to use floo powder to get to my mom's house and go to the leaky cauldron instead. Grandma said it was near to my mom's house.

By the next hour, G-g had packed her stuff, and she said that I was as slow as her husband, which is now dead. Grandma guided me to the fireplace and handed me the floo powder.

"Now remember just say her full name, Janeabeth Ann Cultivire."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, can we do it together?" I held out my hand, she clung onto it and stepped into the fireplace and crouched down dragging me into the same, very small, space.

"Janeabeth Ann Cultivire's house," I said very firmly.

I shut my eyes tightly and gripped her hand tighter. When I could feel my feet touch the ground again, I opened my eyes, turned to my grandma, and finally loosened my grip on her dry hands.

My mom's house was full of dusty objects, we come twice a year to come and clean her house, it gets dirty very fast. The door slammed and I heard my mom's murmurs. She must be talking about work or something to herself.

"Mom?" I said as I saw her brown hair rush through the hallway to the kitchen.

"Hello sweetie it has been a long time, here is your money for Hogwarts this year." she handed me a really heavy and big bag full of wizard money. "Have a good year. Love you tons." She gave me a big kiss and left.

"All right to Diagon alley." My grandma dragged me to the car and soon enough we were in the magical world of wizardry. The colors were exploding as muggle-borns, half-bloods, and purebloods, walked and occasionally ran into and out of the shops. I myself happened to be one of the half-bloods. I was strolling through the crowds of people and noticed the wand shop, owned by one that my father was friends with; until he went on a fishing trip alone far out in Alaska and we think drowned. We found his hat floating in the water, but never found his body.

I opened the door with the TING from the tiny bell on it. I saw a girl at the desk get a box, she had the most beautiful black hair, and the ends were even a pretty silver. She opened the box and the wand glowed a dangerous red light as she picked it up, then she suddenly dropped it with a small exclamation of surprise.

"Looks like that's not the right one either, let me look one more time." The old man shuffled behind the piles of rectangular boxes. "Now try this one." He handed the girl the next wand.

"This one is glowing, does that mean anything?" She looked up at the man. The man's name was Ollivander if I recall correctly. He had the poofiest hair I had seen, it looked like snowflakes lightly pressed together to make curls. He was as old as the first wizard, he had given my grandmother her second wand and that was when she was thirty-five.

I didn't pay attention to the rest of the time the girl was there. I stepped up to the counter once she had left, though I did spot a strange look she had given me. Wonder why.

"Well hello there, you must be Kyle's daughter. Let's see I gave him, Rowan wood, Phoenix feather core, 15" slightly springy." He disappeared behind the towers of boxes. He brought a black box to the counter. I opened the box, I touched the wand and the box flew across the room.

"Nope way too much swish." he went back to the towers and brought me another wand he said it was Unicorn hair instead of a Phoenix feather. I touched it and this time it was glowing instead of zooming across the room.

"Hey look at that almost the complete opposite, and on my second try." I was confused for a second. "It's a Firwood wand with a Unicorn hair core, 12 ¼" and slightly springy flexibility. A perfect fit for you my darling." I gave him my money and went along with my shopping.

"Can we go to the pet store now?" I gave my G-g my puppy eyes.

"Sure," she rolled her eyes. As we walked into the pet store, we came across the mice.

"G-g I want one of them." I pointed with my energy going high again.

"You sure you don't want a python... oh wait pythons aren't allowed." She paid for the white mouse.

"I'm going to name her Squeaky!" I exclaimed with all my might.

"Ok, you go to your mom's house with your new pet and put it in this crate-"

"No, I'm going to train Squeaky to become the best mouse ever." I pushed the crate G-g tried to hand me back.

"Well, then you'll need this," the lady at the desk gave me a guide to train mice. We went to pay and went out the door. I put the mouse into my jacket pocket.

"Hey, G-g can you do the rest of the shopping?" I gave her my puppy eyes once more.

"After we get your robes fitted."

"Fine." I folded my arms as we walked to Madam Malkin's Robes. I tripped on a rock and landed flat on my face.

"Are you alright?" a voice said, I assumed it was G-g, but it turned out to be a boy. My face went bright red.

"Y-yes I'm, fine," I said dusting my pastel pink skirt off.

"You're from America? What are you going here for? You could go to wizarding school in America." The boy had the prettiest eyes I've ever seen, they were an icy blue.

"Uh, I'm … I was born here and I uh go to school here and spend my summer with my grandma so, I better find her." I gave him an uneasy smile and left.

We arrived at the door of the robes shop and immediately went to business. The measuring tape went up and down and around my waist and then around my arm. Eventually, I had a loosely fit robe around my thin body. I took it off and left.

Walking alone from one place to another wasn't very scary I've done it enough times to know what to do. Look both ways when crossing the road first left then right then left again, etcetera.

I got back to my mom's house and flopped on the couch. I trained Squeaky for a couple of hours. By the end of the four-hour mark she knew how to go to the bathroom, how to find me if she gets lost and if I lose her, we made a lot of progress.


	3. The Departure

_**KIERA**_

* * *

Four weeks later found myself in my bedroom, lying face down on my bed and reading an especially interesting book I had gotten along with my school textbooks. A weak croak distracts me from my reading and I found that my dreaded pet frog, Veronica had escaped her terrarium again. With a sigh, I scooped up the slimy animal and put him back in her home, this time double-checking that the lid was locked in place. I would not be bringing this nuisance of a frog with me to Hogwarts, she was too much trouble. The only reason I had her was that my guardian needed her slime for some potions, so I was given it as a somewhat decent tenth birthday gift. I didn't really like animals in the first place, they always died in my hands and it was a miracle Veronica was still alive. I had a sneaking suspicion that the house-elves were responsible for the frog's unfortunate well-being.

With Veronica safely back in her terrarium, I glanced at the clock I kept on my nightstand to find that it was nearly 11:20 on September 1st. I had forty minutes to get to King's Cross Station before the Hogwarts Express departed for the school. Not that I was worried, I would be using floo powder, as always, and I was ready to leave at a moments notice. I decided that now was as good a time as any to leave since I had been so rudely interrupted.

I scooped up my satchel, which had certain charms on it to expand the inside and make it lighter, then hurried downstairs. Before I reached the ground floor, I paused. This was the last time I would be seeing this old house until the summer holiday because I doubted I would be allowed back for any other holiday. I slowed my pace, taking in the old house I had grown up in. Gray walls in every room, dark hardwood or gray carpet on every floor, barely any furniture. My home was dull, but it was home and it was comfortable. Most of the decor was chosen by my guardian, but I was able to add a bookshelf and desk to my room. I was sort of glad to be leaving it, but I knew I would secretly miss it. I shook my head, not time to get sentimental. I needed to be at the station.

* * *

I stepped quickly out of the fire to avoid collision with anyone else that planned on using the floo network to get to Platform 9 ¾. Dragging my trunk, which I cleverly added wheels to, with one hand, I pushed through the throngs of people. It was only about 11:30, so many of the less organized students *cough* Gryffindors *cough* hadn't arrived yet, and that meant prime seating for me.

As per usual, my guardian couldn't come with me, so I was alone as I climbed onto the train. I walked down the corridor on the lavish train, searching for an empty compartment, because there was no way I would purposely sit with anyone, annoying or not. Not too far away from the train doors, I spotted an empty compartment and I hastily claimed. With some difficulty, I was able to lift the trunk over my head and onto a shelf above the seats. Thankful that I was not squashed by my trunk, I plopped down on a seat and took out _Hogwarts: A History_, the book I had been reading this morning. Leaning against the wall and tucking my legs underneath me, I began to read.

Much to my annoyance, multiple students filtered onto the train and started talking. I glared down at my book but continued to read, trying to block out the nose. It wasn't long before almost every compartment was full, except for mine. Maybe my glaring had done the trick and nobody would want to sit with me. No such luck.

The door to my compartment slid open. Sighing, I looked up to see who dared to sit with me and I was surprised to see the boy from Madam Malkin's awkwardly standing in the doorway. Two red-head older boys, that looked to be twins, stood behind him with a trunk in their hands, possibly the first boy's.

"May I sit with you? Rest of the train is full," the younger boy asked shyly. I nodded my head in confirmation, then returned to my book. The boy hesitated for a bit, then helped the older boys lift his trunk to a spot on top of the other seat.

"What's that?" One of the red-haired twins asked. I looked up again and saw the twin pointing at a scar at the dark-haired boy's forehead. When I studied it closer, I realized it was shaped like lighting. My eyes widened, could this be…?

"Blimey," the other twin said, interrupting my thoughts, "Are you-?"

"He is." The first twin looked amazed, and I couldn't blame him. "Aren't you?"

"What?" The poor boy asked with confusion. He couldn't possibly not realize what we were all gaping at.

"Harry Potter," the red-heads chorused together.

"Oh, him," the boy said with surprise, "I mean yes, I am," he quickly corrected. The older ones stared at him, surprise written upon their faces, and I found myself doing the same. Harry Potter, sitting next to me? The boy who somehow defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was standing right in front of me, and I haven't even had the decency to say 'hello'. I tried to fight back my amazement, just like my uncle had taught me to if I ever met this boy, but after all the stories I heard of him when growing up, it was quite difficult.

Before anything else could be said, a feminine voice shouted from outside the train, "Fred, George, are you there?"

"Coming, mum," one twin said, then the two of them left without another word. Harry Potter sat down on the seat, looking extremely relieved to have ended that conversation. I decided it would be best not to say anything; from his reaction after the gawking the boys had done, I doubt he would like any more of it.

I forced myself to look down at my book, though I really wasn't reading it; I just didn't want to make Harry Potter anymore uncomfortable.

More voices filtered through the open window and I could hear the same voice of the twin's mother talking to a boy named Ron about something on his nose. From the sound of the boy's voice when he told her to get off, he didn't appreciate the gesture.

"Ahhh…. Has ickle Ronny have something on his nosy?" One of the twins teased. 'Ikcle Ronny' quickly told him to shut up.

"Where's Percy?" The mother asked, interrupting the small argument.

"He's coming now."

"Can't stay long, mother. I'm upfront," a new voice announced with an air of importance. "The Prefects have got two compartments to themselves." So this boy was a Prefect, it would explain the self-important note to his voice.

"Ohhh, are you a Prefect Percy?" A twin said with surprise, "You should have said something. We had no idea."

"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," the other twin said, "Once, or twice, a minute, all summer-"

"Oh, shut up!" The Prefect exclaimed.

"How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" A twin asked. Honestly, how their mother could tell them apart at all was beyond me.

"Because he's a Prefect," the mother said fondly. "All right dear, well, have a good term. Send me an owl when you get there." She paused. "Now, you two. This year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl, telling me you've, you've blown up a toilet or-"

"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet. Great idea, though. Thanks, mum!"

"It's not funny!" The woman exclaimed, "And look after Ron."

"Don't worry, ickle Ronny-kins is safe with us."

"Shut up," Ickle Ronny-kins said sharply.

"Hey, mom, guess what, guess who we just met on the train?" The boy across from me suddenly leaned back, away from the window he had been looking out of. "You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?"

"Who?"

"Harry Potter!"

A shrill voice, possibly that of a young girl, shouted, "Oh, mum, can I go on the train and see him? Mum, oh, please?"

"You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in a zoo," the mother said sternly. I had to say I quite agreed with her. "Is he really, Fred, how do you know?"

"Asked him, saw his scar. It's really there, like lightning," a twin, the one I supposed was Fred, told her excitedly.

"Poor dear, no wonder he was alone. I wondered, he was ever so polite when he asked how to get onto the platform."

"Never mind that, do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?"

The mother scolded the boy, "I forbid you to ask him, Fred. Now, don't you dare. As though he needs reminding of that on his first day at school."

"All right, keep your hair on."

A whistle sounded through the air, promptly sending the family into action. "Hurry up!" The mother exclaimed. I could only guess that those of the family that was attending Hogwarts jumped onto the train and waved goodbye to their mother.

The young girl began to cry at the parting. "Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls!"

"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat!" One joked.

"George!"

"Only joking, mum!"

The train started with a jolt and my usual grace nearly made me fall out of my chair. Speeding up, the train soon pulled out of the station, leaving behind London and all its inhabitants. A sick feeling of nervousness settled into my stomach and I couldn't help wondering if I would always feel this way when leaving home. Surely I wouldn't in years to come. Not after experiencing the joys of Hogwarts that I heard so many witches and wizards tell me with wondrous voices. I suppose I would just have to wait and see.

Just as it had nearly moments ago, the door to my shared compartment slid open. I looked up for what felt like the hundredth time this morning to see a young, red-headed boy with pale skin covered with freckles standing awkwardly in the hall. What is it with boys and standing awkwardly?

"Anyone sitting there?" He asked, pointing to the seat next to me. "Everywhere else is full," he explained. Harry looked at me and I moved my feet with reluctance while Harry shook his head at the freckled boy. He sat down, sending an apprehensive look towards me, which I pointedly ignored, glanced at Harry, the moved his gaze to the window quickly. Obviously, this boy wanted to stare at the two of us but didn't want to be rude.

"Hey, Ron?" The red-head twins, who I guessed to be the freckled boy's brothers, appeared in the doorway. "Listen, we're going down the middle of the train. Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."

"Right."

"Harry," the other twin said, looking to the boy, "Did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley, and this is Ron, our brother. 'Fraid don't know who she is, though." I rolled my eyes as he gestured to me.

"Kiera," I mumbled. I didn't dare say my last name lest they immediately get as far away from me as possible. I had a… rather disliked family member that taught at Hogwarts.

Realizing I wasn't going to elaborate, one of the twins said, "All right, see you later then."

The two younger boys called bye to the twins as they left, but I didn't bother. I only knew their names, anyway, and I didn't think that warranted a 'goodbye' from myself.

As soon as they closed the door behind them, Ron spoke up. "Are you really Harry Potter?" I inwardly groaned; boys could be so dense. Harry nodded, though I saw some hesitation and embarrassment in it. "Oh, well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes." He paused, "And have you really got, you know?" Ron pointed up at Harry's forehead.

Harry, possibly expecting this, moved his hair out of the way to show the famed lightning scar on his forehead. Ron stared at the mark and even I couldn't help but glance at it for a little too long.

"So, that's where You-Know-Who…" Ron trailed off, but Harry answered his unspoken question quickly.

"Yes," said Harry, "But I can't remember it."

"Nothing?" Ron gapped.

"Well, I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else," Harry explained.

"Wow," said Ron, staring at Harry, then, remembering his mother's words, quickly looked away. There was a pause in the conversation, and I took it to mean that it was over so I could read my book, but no, Harry had to ask a few questions of his own.

"Are all your family wizards?" Harry asked with interest.

"Ah, yes, I think so. I think Mum has a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."

"So you must know loads of magic already."

I must admit, I was a little curious of this myself. My guardian was a wizard, but he rarely taught anything on magic. Most of the stuff I knew I had read about in a book without his knowledge; he didn't want me getting into trouble the first few days of school for a jinx I sent at Malfoy, which was a very real possibility.

"I heard you went to go live with muggles. What are they like?" Ron questioned him in turn.

"Horrible," said Harry, "Well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are though. Wish I had three wizard brothers."

"Five," said Ron, "I'm the six in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left. Bill was Headboy and Charlie was captain of quidditch. Now Percy's a Prefect, Fred and George mess around a lot but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat." Ron brought out a fat, old, gray rat that was not appealing in the slightest. "His name's Scabbers and he's useless. He hardly ever wakes up. Percy's got an owl from Dad for being made a Prefect, but they couldn't afford- I mean, I got Scabbers instead."

His ears turned pink after his rant, then he went back to looking out the window. From the sound of it, it sounded awful to have so many siblings, but at least you had company. I always lived alone with my guardian, I never played with any kids or talked to anyone, since I lived around muggles and all. My guardian didn't like them all that much, and it was too dangerous when I started showing signs of magic. It all ended up to be a rather lonely life, but I was sorta okay with it. More time for reading and learning and such.

Probably wanting to cheer Ron up, Harry went to explain what his life had been like before. He had to wear all of his cousin's old clothes that were much too large for him and he never had gotten any decent birthday presents. It sounded dreadful and I was quietly glad I had never been locked in such a small space under the stairs.

"And until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard, or about my parents, or Voldemort." Ron and I gasped, and Harry looked at us in surprise, probably partially from our reaction and partially to the fact I had been listening. "What?"

"You said You-Know-Who's name!" Exclaimed Ron. "I'd of thought you, of all people."

"I'm not trying to be brave, or anything, saying the name. I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean, I've got loads to learn. I bet, inner I'm the worst in the class." Harry sighed, looking downhearted.

"You won't be. There's loads of people who come from muggle families and they learn quick enough," Ron reassured him.

Seeming to want to include me in the conversation, Harry turned to me and asked, "What about, you Kiera?"

"What about me?" I asked blankly and quietly. I didn't want to be included at all, but I didn't want to be rude too.

"Did you grow up around wizards or Muggles?" He asked.

"I- I was raised by Muggles, but my uncle's a wizard and he came over all the time. I learned a little bit from him, especially potions, that's all the magic he ever let me do," I rehearsed the story I was told to tell everyone if they asked where I came from. Along with not being able to be seen together in public, I wasn't allowed to tell anyone that I lived with my guardian.

"So your parents aren't magical?" Ron asked, his eyebrows furrowed. I guess he was expecting something else.

"Well, my mum was but my dad's a squib, his brother is my uncle," I explained gently. I knew many in the wizarding world wouldn't take me all that seriously if they found out my dad was a squib, and even more so if they knew my mum was muggle-born.

"Was?" Harry asked with confusion. I'm sure he was thinking that there was some way a witch or wizard could have their magic taken away, but there was none gat I knew off.

"They're dead," I mumbled.

"Oh," both boys said.

"Sorry," Harry muttered to me. I shrugged.

"Yours is too, Harry. Though I did get a bit more time with them. Some of You-Know-Who's supporters came and killed them after he disappeared, I was about five, I think. I just wish that you got to know them a bit," I told him earnestly. It really was sad that he never even knew his parents. I was lucky enough to know who they were and to love them before they were taken from me.

They didn't seem to know what to say to that, so our compartment became quiet. Perhaps I had said too much, but I didn't really care. They're the ones that asked in the first place.

The silence lasted until some time after twelve, when a smiling witch came past our door with a cart full of sweets. "Anything off the cart, dears?" Asked the woman. I never had a particular fondness for sweets, but I guess a few pumpkin pasties didn't sound too horrible right now.

Harry jumped up as Ron's ears turned pink and the red-headed boy mumbled something I didn't quite catch. I stood up as well, but not quite as eagerly as Harry had; I did have _some_ self-restraint. Harry quickly made his way to the hallway and I followed behind him while taking out my small purse.

I was surprised to find that Harry bought a little bit of everything; so much was his load that he almost dropped it as he re-entered the compartment.

_I hope he doesn't get sick all over me,_ I thought darkly, imagining the mess that would be.

"What'll it be for you, dear?" The woman asked kindly.

"Just a pumpkin pasty, thank you," I told her politely, then paid for my treats. I went back into the compartment and saw that Harry had dumped all of his sweets onto the empty chair beside him.

"Hungry, are you?" Ron commented.

"Starving," Harry said while taking a rather indecently large bite out of a pumpkin pasty. Ron took out a lumpy package, which he unwrapped to reveal four sandwiches.

"She always forgets I don't like corn beef," Ron muttered.

"Swap you for one of these." Harry held up a pasty and offered it to Ron. "Go on."

"You don't want this it's all dry," said Ron, "She hasn't got much time, you know with five of us."

"Go on, have a pasty!" Harry encouraged. Finally convinced, Ron dug into the pile of sweets with Harry. I couldn't help but feel a little disgusted as they gobbled down the food, they really didn't have any manners at all. Scooting closer to the wall, I quietly snacked on my pumpkin pasty, looking out the window as the scenery rushed passed. I had never seen much of the country or anything around it; I had barely ever left my village to go to Diagon Alley. The green grass, and the farms, and the hills had an odd beauty to it that I quite enjoyed; I found it peaceful to look out at the beautiful landscape, but I could do without the two boys inhaling their food and chatting between mouthfuls.

Sometime later, when the scenes outside turned into wild landscapes, there was a knock on the door. A round-faced boy that looked close to tears opened our door and looked around our compartment. "Sorry, but have you seen a toad at all?" We all shook our heads. "I lost him, he keeps getting away from me."

"He'll turn up," Harry said, trying to comfort him.

"Yes, well, if you see him." The boy sighed and turned to go.

I didn't know what made me do it, perhaps it was the fact that I too had an amphibian pet or maybe the fact I couldn't stand any more of Harry and Ron's smacking, but I jumped up and quickly called after him, "Wait, I'll help you look for him!"

"You will? Oh, thank you." The boy wiped away his tears, then left our compartment. I gave a short wave to my compartment mates, so as not to be too rude since I had spoken to them, then followed after him.

"I-I'm Neville," the boy said tentatively.

"Kiera. Now, come on, I'm sure we'll find your toad around here somewhere." I gave Neville a tiny smile and set off down the train after the elusive amphibian.


	4. The Amazing Adventure Begins!

_**BLYANA**_

* * *

It was my birthday and the day I had to pack my trunk, and leave my mom's house for good. Of course my mom forgot. Since my grandma had to go back home, she didn't celebrate it either. So I was just It was my birthday and the day I had to pack my trunk, and leave my mom's house for good. Of course my mom forgot. Since my grandma had to go back home, she didn't celebrate it either. So I was just on the couch waiting for a couple of hours to pass, already for the magical adventure today.

As I waited, I imagined the celebration of my birthday going perfectly, a party with all my friends at a pool. Decorations everywhere, baby blue and pink everywhere. A towering cake bigger than the pool, horses to ride in eleven acres.

Slowly the hours passed and I finally got to the hidden wall for me to run right through. There happened to be a line of people, I believe it was the Weasley family, and some other boy with extremely black hair. I still had a little bit of patience to wait.

I finally got onto the train with a bit of hustle in my walk, and to my surprise I found a place for me to sit.

"Is there room in here for me?" a small girl said as she placed her exceedingly packed luggage on the ground.

"Sure thing. Do you want some help with your luggage?" I said to the blond girl.

"Yes please." I helped her put her large luggage upon the racks above us.

"I'm Blyana but, you can call me Bly. What is your name?" No answer. I asked again. No answer. It was silent for a while. Was she def or something, I was saying this out loud, right?

Later a boy walked in and asked if he could join us. We said yes. It turned out that it was the same boy that helped me recover from my fall at Diagon Alley. Oh, the first day is always so so so… embarrassing.

"So, I never caught your name, princess clumsy." he gave me a ridiculous bow.

"Ha, I uh, _my_ name?…" I rubbed my wrist, "my name is Blyana, bu-ut I guess you can call me Bly." I blushed lightly.

"And you are?" He gestured to the small blonde girl.

"Joselein." She didn't speak the rest of the way to Hogwarts.

"So, you excited for your first year at Hogwarts?" He asked the both of us, but Joselein didn't answer.

"I mean I guess, all I can do is imagine what it'll be like. Eating in the magical cultural hall and meeting all the ghosts in the castle, and getting new animal friends!" my face was now cherry red.

"Uh… yeah me too." I could see he was slightly blushing whenever he put his hand on his neck.

"Uh, you never told me your name." I said playing with my gold heart necklace, my grandma bought me from diagon alley for my sixth birthday.

"Oh, sorry, I guess I'm a little nervous for the first day of school. I'm Lucas. Nice necklace by the way." His face was reddened because of embarrassment.

"My grandma got it for me and Diagon Alley. Did you go to Diagon Alley and get your wand?" I asked Lucas. Lucas had curly blonde hair that totally went with his eyes.

"Actually, my dad is a wand maker, he made me the perfect wand, you wanna see?" He stood up to get into his luggage.

"I'll get mine while your at it." I said as I climbed onto the seat to reach my luggage.

As we sat down the train came to a stop.

"Well that's too bad we'll have to show each other later. Bye Bly." He gave me an adorable smile and zoomed out the door with his bags.

"Bye," I said almost fainting as he left.

"See you later lover girl." She gave me an unpleasant look and left.

"Ok." I said to myself gathering my things.

I walked alone after leaving my things in the compartment, with the others. Suddenly I saw toad hop in front of me. Unaware of who's it was I picked up the slimy creature. It immediately used its extremely strong back legs and jumped out of my hands and went towards the crowd of first years. I followed it into the crowd and lost it.

A light bobbed over the heads of the students, and the man attached to the light was shouting, "Fir's years, fir's years over here!" I quickly skipped along to where the man was standing, along with every other first year, but I did notice I was the only one skipping. "Come on, follow me. Anymore fir's years? Mind your step now, fir's years, follow me!"

As I got closer to the man with the light I realized that he was three times as big as any man. It was slightly intimidating, but he must be nice if he was leading the first years to the castle, right?

The giant man lead us down a narrow path in the dark. It was spooky without any light, and it made it difficult to not trip, especially for me. It was quiet as we made our way to wherever we were going, and it made it all the more eerie in the cold night.

"You'll get yer fir's sight of Hogwarts in a sec," called the giant man, "Just 'round this bend here." My imagination exploded, we were almost to the Hogwarts of many years of amazing discoveries and more to discover throughout our years of Hogwarts.

Suddenly, the narrow path opened up to reveal a big, black lake, and perched on a mountain on the other side of the mass of water was a huge castle with glittering windows and tall towers. I gasped at the beauty of the scene; Hogwarts was magnificent.

"No more than four to a boat," the big man shouted to all of us. I looked down from the castle to see small boats floating in the water. They weren't attached to any dock to keep them from floating away, so they must be magic! That was so cool!

I tried to carefully get into the boat at the very end, but I ended up tripping and landing face first inside. I stood up quickly and looked around to make sure no one was watching, and Joselein happened to be staring at me. The boats started to move forward towards the great castle as the big man looked like he was talking. No one else got onto the boat I was in. I guess I was the odd one out. The boats started to move all at the same time, my energy was going high, and we all know what that means. I stood up in the boat, the large man told me to sit down, but did I listen? No. The boat flipped, I was submerged into the freezing cold lake water. The coldness of the water didn't affect me due to my extremely high energy level. A red bumpy creature lifted me out of the water and the warm air pricked my now freezing skin.

I got dropped onto the shore, the boats were already across and the students were getting off the boats. I stand up sopping wet and the big man comes and walks up to me.

"Ya alright Miss?" The big man started to take off his extremely large fur jacket.

"Yeah, thanks to Bob." I patted the creature.

"Uh… you talking about that?" The big man pointed to the squid.

"Yes." The crowd of first years started to laugh

"Here ya can have ma jacket." The heavy jacket dropped onto my flimsy body.

"Thank you." I said in a muffled voice.

"Oi, you there! Is this your toad?" The big man suddenly asked as he picked up a green toad.

"Trevor!" A boy shouted as he ran to grab the toad from the giant man. Wait who's Trevor?

Anyways, the big man lead us down a hallway in the rock. Finally, we made it to a clearing of wet grass in the shadow of Hogwarts. We then made our way up stone steps that lead to the great front doors of the castle.

"Everyone here?" The man asked, "You there, still got your toad?" The man raised a huge fist and knocked thrice on the oak doors.


	5. The Sorting

_**THIRD-PERSON**_

* * *

The doors swung open and revealed a stern faced woman with green robes and a big black hat standing in the doorway. Blyana thought the woman looked rather unhappy and in dire need of a smile, while Kiera knew perfectly well who this woman was. Kiera had heard tale of her from her only living relative, and now she realized that the stories she had been told were quite true and an accurate description of the woman who stood before her year.

"The fir's years, Professor McGonagall," the big man, that neither girl knew the name of, said.

"Thank you, Hagrid," the woman said in a thick Scottish accent. "I'll take them from here."

Professor McGonagall opened the doors wider for each first year to see beyond. Blyana thought the entrance hall impressively large and open, she had never seen such a room that looked to be able to hold a hundred elephants. Kiera didn't think it that much impressive, but she had to admit that it would fit approximately 536 students ranging from six to four feet high.

They didn't linger long in the large room, Professor McGonagall lead them to an empty chamber by the Great Hall. Before they entered the new room, voices could be heard coming from another large set of double doors.

Professor McGonagall stopped and the students gathered around her to hear what she had to say. "Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said to her new pupils, "The start of term banquet will begin shortly but before you take your seats in the Great Hall you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because while you are here your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor." Blyana desperately wanted to be apart of that house, much like her father had been. "Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin." Kiera thought being in Ravenclaw wouldn't be that terrible, but if she was put in Slytherin she was sure she would transfer to Beauxbatons.

"Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts your triumphs will earn you house points while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school, so I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." The professor finished speaking and scanned the students. "I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly." And with that she left the chamber, leaving the students alone to contemplate on what the Sorting Ceremony would be like.

Many of the students were quite anxious as they worried what could possibly done to them to determine their house., Blyana included. Her mind swirled with images of all that could happen, all that could go wrong.

As she continued to fret over such a small thing, Kiera leaned against the stone cold wall, her face neutral though a little bit frightening. Her own mind dwelled upon a scene that had taken place on the train. Kiera, trying to be a nice witch, had decided to help a fellow student, but ended up terrifying the boy and nearly landing herself in detention. A sudden scream from some first years distracted both girls as numerous transparent people floated through the walls. Kiera knew them to be ghosts, but Blyana thought them to be scary but maybe they were friendly.

"F-forgive and forget, I say we ought to give him a second chance," said a fat little friar as he glided above the students.

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know he's not really even a ghost," a richly dressed ghost was saying, then seemed to spot the many students below him, "I say, what are you all doing here?"

The children remained silent, too scared to speak to beings such as these.

"New students," the Fat Friar said, smiling kindly at all of them, "About to be sorted, I suppose." People nodded in answer. "Hope to see you in Hufflepuff. My own house you know."

"Move along now." Professor McGonagall had returned for the students, "The Sorting Ceremony is about to start." The ghosts floated away and the Fat Friar gave a small wave before he disappeared.

"Now, form a line!" The professor told her students, "And follow me!"

Kiera and Blyana both got into line, Kiera behind a boy with curly blonde hair and Blyana behind a girl with bushy brown hair. As one, the students walked out of the chamber, back into the large hall, and then through the large set of double doors into the Great Hall.

Thousands of candles floated in midair, above four long tables where a great number of students sat. All four tables pointed at a head table where the teachers were seated, peering out at their new students. At the far right of the table, the large man who had led them across the lake was seated, but that was the only person any of the first years recognized.

Blyana took some time to study each professor, noting the witches and wizards who wore extravagant robes and hats, one even wore a turban! Most of the students in the hall were distracted by the floating candles, and the large tables, and the new first years, so nobody noticed when Kiera locked eyes with a black haired man at the very end of the table. Nobody noticed when the two of them stared at each other too long for it to be an accident. Nobody noticed, except perhaps for Professor Albus Dumbledore.

He knew the secret the two shared, or rather, secrets, because he was the one that asked they keep them. Albus Dumbledore regretted that someone as young as Kiera had to keep such marvelous and monumental secrets to herself, but it was for the future good of the wizarding world, and he trusted that she would keep it better than anyone.

Professor McGonagall, oblivious to the thoughts of her dearest friend and one of her new students, escorted the first years to the front, and then stopped in front of the head table, prompting her students to do so as well.

The nervous students looked out over their peers, taking notice of the few ghosts that floated here and there. Some looked up at the ceiling, which was velvety black with stars dotting it. The girl in front of Blyana whispered, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in _Hogwarts_: _A History_."

As the students stared around them, Professor McGonagall took a four legged stool and placed it in front of them. On top of the school, she put a pointed wizard's hat. It appeared very old and beat-up, with patches and frays. Everyone in the hall stared at the hat, somehow expected something from it, though the first years did not know how that could be.

Suddenly, to the great surprise of the youngest students, the hat twitched. Then a rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth, and the hat began to sing:

_"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve and chivalry,_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true,_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin,_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means,_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

Professor McGonagall stepped forward with a roll of parchment that she thought got longer every year. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted."

"Abbott, Hannah."

A pink faced girl with blonde pigtails stepped out of line and quickly walked to the stool. She put the hat on, which fell right below her eyes and sat down. A moment later, the hat shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!" The Hufflepuff table, in a cheery yellow and gold, cheered and clapped for their new member.

"Bones, Susan."

"HUFFLEPUFF!" Another cheer from the same table.

"Boot, Terry."

"RAVENCLAW!" The Ravenclaw table, decked in blue and bronze, cheered.

"Briar, Lucas." The boy that stood in front of Kiera walked up and Blyana waved at her friend as he past. He sent her a nervous smile before settling on the stool with the hat perched on his head.

"SLYTHERIN!" The table cheered, thrilled for their first member of the year.

"Brocklehurst, Mandy."

"RAVENCLAW!" The blue table cheered again.

"Brown, Lavender."

"GRYFFINDOR!" The red and gold table cheered, perhaps the loudest so far, as the Lavender sat down.

"Bullstrode, Millicent."

"SLYTHERIN!" The Slytherin table of green and silver applauded for her as she joined them. Kiera looked up to see the fleeting, yet rather small, smile on the black-haired man's face.

"Cultivire, Blyana." A huge grin on her lightly freckled face, Blyana nearly skipped forward to jam the hat on her head and sit patiently on the stool. To her surprise, the hat began to speak to her.

_Well, you know what, your father was in Slytherin, would you like to be with him?_

_"No! My father was so not… not smart with… ANYTHING_!" The negative thoughts burst in Bly's mind as if she was talking aloud.

_All right then… "_GRYFFINDOR!_"_ The most popular table clapped.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin."

"HUFFLEPUFF!" The happy yellow table clapped again, as enthusiastic as the last two times.

"Finnigan, Seamus."

"GRYFFINDOR!" Another applause from the table.

"Granger, Hermoine." The smart girl that had been in front of Blyana hurried forward to perch on the stool with the hat on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" Another cheer from the red table.

"Longbottom, Neville." He nearly fell on the way over, but when he sat on the stool with the hat on his head, it took a long while for the hat to decide.

"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted to everyone, including Neville's, surprise. He scampered off, with the Sorting Hat still on his head. He hurried back to the stool when he realized he still wore it, his face red and the laughter of everyone in the hall only embarrassing him further.

"Macdougal, Morag."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Malfoy, Draco." The pale boy swaggered forward, a confident grin on his face. Kiera fought a sneer as he passed her, and the urge to trip him. She needed to be civil, at least until they were alone.

"SLYTHERIN!" He joined the table amid the cheers and applause from the other Slytherin students.

"Moon, Lily." Hufflepuff.

"Nott, Theodore." Slytherin.

"Parkinson, Pansy" Slytherin.

"Patil, Padma." Ravenclaw.

"Patil, Parvati." Gryffindor.

"Perks, Sally-Anne." Gryffindor.

"Potter, Harry." Whispers broke out around the hall, students asking each other if it was really him. The small black-haired boy walked forward, to the stool.

_He looks rather scared, _Blyana thought, _I wonder what it's like to be so famous._

_He's probably going to end up in Gryffindor, just like his father,_ Kiera grumbled in her own head. She had nothing against the Potters, in fact, she admired them, it was just that Gryffindors tend to be a bit daft, and from the oblivious way he acted on the train, it was the perfect house for him.

"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat finally shouted. Kiera snorted, she was right, but Blyana cheered along with her fellow housemates. It was perhaps the loudest one yet from any table.

"Snape, Kiera." The entire hall went silent, no one dared say anything, not even the first years spoke, though they didn't know why. Everyone stared at the pale girl with black and silver hair as she walked calmly to the stool. She seemed not to notice the stares, but Kiera definitely felt them.

As she walked forward from near the back of the line, she snuck a glance up at the pale man that many now noticed looked similar to her. They had the same black hair, though Kiera's was dyed at the ends, and the same sallow skin. Many of the students couldn't believe that Professor Snape had any relatives or that he had married. Kiera took the hat from McGonagall, then placed it on her head as she sat gracefully on the stool.

_Ahhh… a Snape. But you are bright, exceptionally so, and you most definitely love to learn, though your imagination is limited. Your grandmother's family was very famous for its Slytherins, you know, perhaps you would do best in there… _the hat said Kiera's mind. It was an odd sensation, but not uncomfortable.

"_Don't you dare put me in Slytherin,"_ she told the hat rather rudely.

_Not in Slytherin? But your own uncle is their head of house. You would do well in there, _the hat tried to convince her.

"_If you put me in Slytherin I will burn you,"_ Kiera quite unnecessarily threatened.

_That is a very Slytherin thing to say, but if you so wish, it'd better be…._ "RAVENCLAW!"

Kiera quickly jumped off the stool and returned that hat to McGonagall. She hurried to the Ravenclaw table, which was giving a rather half-hearted cheer at the fact that their new member was related to their least favorite professor. Before she sat down, Kiera looked up at the table to find that her very own uncle was frowning at her. Thrilled with the fact that she wasn't placed under him, she grinned at the grumpy man, then sat down.

"Thomas, Dean."

"GRYFFINDOR!" The last student forgotten, the table erupted into cheers.

"Turpin, Lisa."

"RAVENCLAW!" The girl joined Kiera at the table as the Ravenclaw students cheered much louder than they had for the pale-skinned girl.

"Weasley, Ron."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

_Figured, _Kiera thought as Blyana cheered as loudly as the rest of her table.

"Zabini, Blaise." Slytherin.

That was the last of the students. As soon as Professor McGonagall rolled up the parchment and put away the Sorting Hat and stool, Albus Dumbledore went to his feet, his face beaming with happiness.

"Welcome!" He said, "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words and hear they are: nitwit, blubber, oddment, tweak. Thank you." He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered for the elderly man.


	6. Pet Peeves

**BLYANA**

* * *

Around the time desert appeared on the table, I was nearly stuffed, but I couldn't say no to a treacle tart and some ice cream. By now, most of the new students were comfortable with talking to each other and we got into a conversation about our families. One boy said that he was a half-blood, just like me, and another Neville, the boy with the toad, explained all about his family and how they thought that he was all muggle. I giggled lightly when he told about how he fell out a window and just bounced; it was rather funny how he told it.

When it was my turn to talk, I happily said, "My mom and dad are both magical, but my G-g brought me 's a muggle-born though, so that'll make me a half-blood… oh and I'm part american"

The boy next to me, the great and famous and probably amazing Harry Potter, suddenly clapped a hand on his hand. Surprised, I looked at him as our Prefect, Percy I think, asked, "What is it?"

"Nothing," Harry Potter mumbled. I tilted my head, concerned and curious. "Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrel?" Harry Potter nodded his head at greasy haired man with ridiculously pale skin.

"Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous. That's Professor Snape, he teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to. Everyone knows he's after Quirrel's job. Knows an awful lot about the dark arts, Snape, and from the sound of it, he's got some relative going here this year," our Prefect said thoughtfully. It reminded me about how the whole hall went silent when 'Snape, Kiera' was called.

I peeked up at Professor Snape; he didn't look happy at all, and from the way Percy talked about him, he wasn't a favorite. No wonder the hall went silent as the girl was sorted, but something about that girl seemed familiar. Then I remembered! She was the girl I saw at the wand shop, at least I thought so, they did have the same black hair with silver ends. I shrugged, that was a mystery for another time, right now, my ice cream was in dire need of attention before it melted into a sugary mess.

From that point on, I didn't really pay attention to what anyone was saying, up until the point where all the deserts disappeared (much to my disappointment) and the Headmaster got to his feet.

"Ahem, just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start of term notices to give you: first years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils and a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well. I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors." Awww… I thought with disappointment. "Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term; anyone interested in playing for their House teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to everyone that does not wish to die a very painful death." My eyes widened, was that a possibility here? If so, that was pretty cool. "And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song."

The Headmaster gave his wand a flick and a long ribbon flew out of it, which flew high above the tables and twisted itself into words.

"Everyone pick their favorite tune," said the Headmaster, "And off we go!" Then the whole school began to sing and I with them:

Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy, Warty Hogwarts,

Teach us something please,

Whether we be old and bald,

Or young with scabby knees,

Our heads could do with filling,

With some interesting stuff,

For now they're bare and full of air,

Dead flies and bits of fluff,

So, teach us things worth knowing,

Bring back what we've forgot,

Just do your best, we'll do the rest,

And learn until our brains all rot.

I laughed as most finished the song together, but two red-headed twins still sang at a slow pace. I giggled as Dumbledore conducted them, and when the had finally finished, I clapped long and hard for them. The song was brilliant!

"Ah, music," the Headmaster said, wiping a tear from his eyes, "A magic beyond all we do here. And now, bedtime! Off you trot!"

I sprang up, excited to see where we were to go. Percy the Prefect led us through hallway after hallway, up stairs that moved and stairs that had trick steps. It was dizzying to see this part of Hogwarts, and I already knew I was going to get lost many, many times.

Whispers and fingers pointed as they went through the complicated hallways. There were more stair cases as they climbed and walked further the comments and complaints stirred through the crowd of first years, covered in black fitted robes. The moans and groans grew also. Everyone was wondering 'would the walking ever come to an end?'

We suddenly stopped. Everyone bumped into each other. A bundle of walking sticks were floating in the air. As Percy neared them, they started throwing themselves at us. One of them knocked me in the face, making me fall backwards rolling down the stairs. Again I stood up straight as fast as I could, making sure no one noticed to fall.

"Peeves, a poltergeist…" Percy whispered to the crowd, "PEEVES - show yourself." A raspberry was put towards them, in reply. "Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?" Percy cursed.

There was a pop and a little man with wicked dark eyes came out floating cross legged, holding the walking sticks.

"Oho," he cackled evilly, "Ickle Firsties! What fun!" He swooped down we all ducked.

"Go away Peeves, or Baron will hear about this." The cloudy figure stuck his tongue out and disappeared, dropping all the canes on the toad boy in the front of the crowd.

"You want to watch out for Peeves," Percy said, then lead us through the halls once more, "The Bloody Baron's only one that can control him, he won't even listen to us prefects. Here we are."

"Finally," we all said in relief. At the end of the corridor was a very thick lady with a pink silk dress, in a portrait.

"Password?" the woman said.

"Caput Draconis." Percy said. I was clueless to what he said that and why, but my imagination flew, as the portrait moved outward revealing a small round whole in the wall. We all struggled to crawl through it. The toad boy needed a little help through it. He had the prefect and another boy help him through. I was the last one in the cozy round room with couches you could sink into while reading a fairy tale that has caught your interest. Percy directed the girls to their dormitories. My bed was closest to the door, thank goodness. I also got stuck with some very determined girls, such as Hermione, she said she was going to take so many more classes third year. I don't know how that would be possible, but you know this place is magical than I could even imagine.

Soon we were all ready for bed; me in my wonderful pink nightgown and my dad's hat, with a new day coming ahead with tons of surprises.


	7. The Unsolvable Riddle

**KIERA**

* * *

Soon after we finished singing the slightly horrendous Hogwarts song, our Prefects, a girl with dyed blue hair and a boy with light brown hair, lead us to our house common room. We climbed up thousands of steps, passed by moving portraits, and even a couple ghosts drifted passed us. It felt as though we went up and up and up and up, never coming coming to a stop. I was starting to regret asking to be placed in Ravenclaw.

Finally, we came to a stop at the top of a flight of stairs on the fifth floor. In front of us was a painted blue door with a bronze eagle door knocker. As our group of first years and two prefects approached it, it came to life.

"What has many keys, but can't even open a single door?" It asked us. Many of the other students stepped back in surprise. I would've, but there was a flight of steps behind me and that would not have ended well.

"To enter the common room, you must first answer the riddle Evander, our tower guardian, gives you. And the riddle is different every time you wish to enter the common room," our male prefect announced to us all.

"We're not going to help you with this one, but you can help each other," the blue-haired prefect continued. Around me, new Ravenclaw students began to panic at the prospect of being tested so early without being able to study. Some of the more confident students marched up to door knocker.

"A man with no hands," the first student announced. I swear I saw the eagle raise its eyebrow at such a ridiculous answer.

"Incorrect." The student frowned, then headed back to the friends he had already made.

"Nice try, now another student has to answer the riddle," our blue-haired prefect told us, "To make it easier, why don't you all line up in front of the door so you can each take a turn at guessing?"

We did as she suggested and I somehow got caught in the middle. A girl stepped up this time, and she said, "Keys?"

"Incorrect." She walked to the back of the line as a boy stepped up.

"Is it a janitor?"  
"Incorrect." He followed the girl and another boy walked up.

"Could it be a key ring?"

"Incorrect." The boy moved out of the way and now it was my turn. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves; I knew I was smart, but performing in front of other people always made me nervous.

"Piano," I said. The door swung open with a creak, the people in the line behind me were in awe.

"Well done, what's your name?" The boy prefect asked me.

"Kiera," I told him quietly, then ran inside before he could ask anymore from me.

Inside, the common room was breathtaking. The domed ceiling was painted like the night sky with a golden outline, the walls held several book cases filled with an assortment of books, and the floor had a soft, blue carpet. Chairs and tables were scattered at random across the round room, and student belongings already littered the round tables.

"Alright, girls, this way to our dorms," the girl prefect announced, and lead the group of five girls behind a statue of an intimidating, yet beautiful, woman. "This is Rowena Ravenclaw, one of the school's founders. The door to the girls dorms are behind it, come on now."

The girl opened up a hidden door behind the statue and lead us through. On the other side, there were stairs that lead up to the next level, full of empty book shelves. We went up another flight of stairs and found a long, thin, hallway. I briefly wondered how there could be a hallway and rooms in the tower, but I suppose it was an extension charm of some sort.

"Alright, you five are in here. Down the hall is the girls' dorms for the other years. I'm in the fifth down there if you need me. Bathrooms are the floor above and boys dorms above that, but there's no staircase there. You belongings are already in your room, so get changed and get to sleep if you can. I'll see you all in the morning." The prefect smiled kindly at us, then walked down the hall to her dorm room.

The girl who had guessed 'keys' for the riddle opened the door and was the first person in. The dorm room was circular, with the five beds lining the wall in a circle. Between each bed was a desk and a bookshelf, separating each little area and giving a little privacy to each girl. My trunk and bag were on the bed on the far side of the room.

Each of us fled to our beds with blue blankets and blue and bronze hangings. I quickly change into my purple nightgown and jumped into bed. With a last look around the dorm room, I drew my curtains closed and went to sleep.

My sleep was relatively peaceful, despite the strange bird-hawk-bear thing that kept appearing in my dreams. I was the first to wake up in our dorm room, even though it was nearly dawn.

After dressing in my Hogwarts uniform that had the addition of a Ravenclaw tie and robes, I tried to decide whether I would wake up the other girls. It was none of my business if they made it to class on time or not, but I thought it would be a horrible first impression to just let them sleep through breakfast.

In the end, I woke up a dark brown haired girl near the door so that she could wake the others later. I bid her good morning, then hurried down to the common room with my bag full of school supplies. The common room already had a great deal of students lingering in the arm chairs and chatting to each other before breakfast.

I bypassed all of them and left the tower. Many would argue that I should have taken a student that knew the way to the Great Hall, since I was a First Year, but I had a photographic memory and I already memorized the way we had taken to our dorms after dinner last night. All I had to do is follow the path in reverse and I wouldn't get lost.

As I walked through numerous halls, and walked up and down countless stairs, my mind wandered to the days ahead of me. I was at Hogwarts now, at the place my mother went to school and my father wasn't allowed to enter. The place was both wonderful and awful, both exciting and boring. It was magical and strange and held many, many secrets. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was possibly the safest and most dangerous school in England, what with the protective spells of teachers and haywire spells of learning students.

I was no seer, so I had no idea what the future held for myself. All I knew was that my years at Hogwarts would change me, for better or for worse. Today started all of that, my first day at Hogwarts. I wanted to know the secrets the old castle held, all the mysteries the four founders left for the students to find.

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by me falling to the ground. No one had tripped me, I was just clumsy. Extremely clumsy. Sighing, I picked myself up off the floor, checked to see if anyone had seen my fall, which no one had, then flew down the last flight of stairs to the Great Hall.

The four tables that lined the hall were only partly filled with students this early in the morning. I made my way to an empty spot on the Ravenclaw table and sat down to eat. I scooped scrambled eggs onto my plate and grabbed toast to go with it. As I ate, a very short man, that I suspected to be at least some part goblin, handed each of us at Ravenclaw table our semester timetable.

I peered over my timetable, looking to see what classes I had today. Before I could actually see my lessons, the mail arrived for all the students. Unexpectedly, a barn owl soared down and perched on top of the plate of toast. It dropped one of the letters it held in its beak, then flew off again.

Shocked, yet curious, I picked up the letter to read it. I was given an even nastier shock when I saw it wasn't even addressed to me, but to a Ms. Blyana Cultivire.

"Who the blazes is Blyana Cultivire?" I whispered to myself, both irritated and bewildered.


	8. Mystical Mistakes

**_THIRD-PERSON_**

* * *

Only moments after Kiera received a strange letter that wasn't even addressed to herself, the self-same owl dropped a letter into Blyana's cereal bowl.

"Oh!" The blonde girl exclaimed and quickly grabbed the letter before it could be completely soaked in sugary milk. The girl looked at the letter with confusion. This wasn't her name, as the corner of the letter dripped with milk. The letter said:

Ms. Kiera H. R. Snape

Hogwarts

"Who in the…" Blyana thought for a bit, rewinding to the sorting. The scene replayed in her mind. The name came along matching with the girl from the wand shop, with the extremely cool black hair with the silver tips. Blyana looked around to find that Kiera wasn't at the Ravenclaw table.

In fact, the girl had left as soon as she received the letter. Kiera figured that her uncle, Professor Snape, would be able to deliver the message to whoever this Blyana Cultivar was. The only problem was finding the professor. Much to Kiera's annoyance, he wasn't at the staff table so she would have to search the castle for him. Combine that with the fact that it was only September 2nd of her first year, she would most definitely get lost.

As the confused blonde continued to stare at the letter. She walked out to the hall, thinking of the last name, she thought she should return the letter to Professor Snape. As she walked quickly down the hall, with the soggy letter, she found herself hopelessly lost. Every corner she swerved, every staircase she went up or down, she still had no idea where she was. Until she bumped into someone with a slytherin crest on their robe.

She fell to the floor, the letter flew all the way down the hall.

"I'm so sorry are you all right." A male voice said behind the blonde. Light footsteps came towards her. Then a face appeared it was the boy again, Lucas.

"You know it's really tiring to keep running into you, Lucas I'm always being a cluts" Blyana said as Lucas held out his hand and pulled her up, so that her feet were touching the ground.

"_Why in Merlin's name did they make this castle so complicated?"_ Kiera grumbled in her mind as she aimlessly wandered the halls alone. She knew she needed to go down, since the best potion work was done underground, but how to get down was the question.

At the moment, Kiera was feeling great resentment towards the four founders of Hogwarts and the constantly moving stairways and trick doors. If only there was a map, or maybe some trick to getting around; perhaps her uncle would be able to tell her, if she ever found him.

Back in another section of the castle, Blyana suddenly noticed how close she was to Lucas and quickly backed away. She could feel the blush seeping through her cheeks.

"Are you lost Bly?" Lucas said as the girl started down the stairs. The girl stopped, making her hair stop swinging back and forth.

"Uh, I'm just trying to return a letter…" she turned around with a small smile, that made Lucas blush lightly.

"To who?" Blyana cringed as she turned back around.

"A professor." Before she could turn around again the boy replied.

"Who is…?" The question made Blyana shiver.

"Fine, its… Severus Snape."

"Oh." The blonde boy was silent for a bit, giving the blonde girl a chance to get to the bottom of the staircase.

"Well you're definitely going in the wrong direction." The boy disappeared behind the wall, with a smirk across his face.

"And that's why you're in slytherin." His smirk transferred to Blyana's face.

Now, as they journey towards Professor Snape's office, Kiera finally finds someone who could help. It happened to be the Gray Lady, Ravenclaw house ghost. Kiera had heard that the ghost was rather shy and enjoyed wandering the castle on her own.

"Excuse me," Kiera called softly to the Gray Lady as she passed her. Startled, the ghost backed partially into a wall. "Oh, I'm sorry to startle you, but I was wondering if you could direct me to Professor Snape's office."

"Professor Snape's?" She asked quietly as she slowly drifted towards the girl. "Not many wish to see him."

"I know, but he's the only professor I know." Kiera spoke softly so as to not scare her again. The Gray Lady stared intently at the young girl, her gray eyes piercing the girl.

"You are Kiera Snape, aren't you?" She didn't wait for an answer before she continued, "The professor is your uncle, I remember."

The Gray Lady drifted around Kiera, and for a moment the girl thought her request was going to be ignored, but the Gray Lady whispered, "Down the hall, take the stairs, and turn left. You will find his office behind the portrait of a wizened old wizard." Then she drifted through a wall.

"Thank you," Kiera whispered to herself, even though the ghost wouldn't have been able to hear her. The first year quickly made her way down the stairs as instructed, glad to finally have some direction to go.

Back through the halls Lucas and Blyana, walked together, talking about their first moments at Hogwarts. Laughing through the halls they found themselves almost to the office of Severus. They saw a girl walking towards them, Blyana thought she looked familiar as she came closer to them.

"What are you two doing down here?" the girl said playing with her slytherin crest.

"Just having a little fun Joselein." The name clicked in the blonde girl's head.

"Do you mean making out in the hallways while no one is watching!" She got up in our faces, examining their lips.

"No! We're just friends, now leave us be." Lucas got up in her face.

"I leave you to your kissing buisness." The girl walked passed them.

"Well, I'll see you around." he winked at me then ran back up the steps they came. Blyana wondered why he was running.

Blyana walked into the room to find Kiera in their talking to Snape with a letter in her hand also, her thoughts drifted away.

"Sev," Kiera said, slightly exasperated, "Can you give this letter to the owner please? It was delivered to me on accident."

Professor Severus Snape noticed the entrance of Blyana, the true owner of the letter, and saw that she had a similar letter clutched in her hands.

"I don't believe it will be much of a problem, Kiera. Cultivire, step up please," Severus Snape snapped sharply at the girl. Blyana jumped, then hurried forward to give the letter to Snape.

"Um… Sir this was delivered to me this morning, it kind of got into my breakfast though." Blyana handed him the letter, he sniffed it then put it down due to the foul smell of sour milk.

"Now.." He held both letters in his hands,"It seems that a very particular owl has mistaken his recipients again." He paused for a moment, then crossed her arms to give both girls a letter.

"What!" both of the girls exclaimed. Kiera was overly irritated that her letter was soaked in milk, and Blyana was shocked that an owl mixed up a delivery, it was unheard of in the wizarding world.

Kiera, the more comfortable of the two when talking to Snape, asked, "Who are the letters from if the person used the same owl?"

"You can open them and find out. Now, you better hurry to class or you'll already have detention on your first day." Severus Snape fixed a dangerous glare on his niece, one she had seen many times, despite this, Kiera hesitated before leaving and Blyana couldn't help thinking that this girl was either mad or brave.

In the end, Kiera backed down from her uncle's gaze and marched out of the classroom, soggy letter clutched angrily in her hand. For Blyana, it didn't take nearly as long for her to scurry out of the classroom once Snape's glare landed on her.

Huffing over the fact that her letter was soaked in milk, and thoroughly annoyed at her uncle for leaving her in the dark concerning the letter, Kiera marched up the steps to her first class, Herboloby. She remembered seeing the green houses when they were crossing the lake on their first night. What she didn't remember, however, is asking Blyana to follow her.

"Why are you following me?" Kiera snapped at her fellow first year.

"Because I have no idea where I'm going. And I assumed that you and I could be friends." Blyana gave her a cheesy smile.

"Why would we be friends?" Kiera, surprised, stopped in her tracks and furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Fine I'll just go find my real friend Lucas! Someone who can actually help me." Blyana turned around and opened her letter from… Dumbledore! The old man was asking for her presence in his office on Wednesdays at . Blyana darted for the stairs and moving as fast as she could, for her first class was at seven and it was a quarter till seven! Blyana rushed her way up to the seventh floor, with the curiosity rushing through her veins.

Kiera watched as Blyana ran off, blinking in surprise and confusion. Sighing, she stared at the ground and walked to whatever class she had. She kicked a stray rock at the wall, both frustrated and disappointed. If someone could please explain to her why it was so hard to make friends? Was there some secret to it, or maybe magic? Kiera just had her first real chance to make an actual friend, not a forced one, and she messed it up. Some witch she was.

As Kiera strolled down the hall towards her first lesson, she realized that she still hadn't opened the letter that had caused all of this mess. She was a little resentful towards it and secretly wanted to not open it out of spite towards whoever sent it, but she opened it anyway.

_Dear Ms. Kiera Snape,_

_Our dear Professor Severus Snape, your uncle, as I recall, has informed me of your great abilities. If you would be so kind as to join me in my office on Wednesday, September 4th, at 7 o'clock, we may discuss these rather fine gifts of yours and whatever plan of action you wish to make._

_Yours truly, Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

**_Albus Dumbledore_**

Typical of Professor Dumbledore to keep a faulty owl out of pity. In the letter, he spoke as if Kiera had never met him before, but, in reality, they had met numerous times and Kiera quite liked him. As one who couldn't reveal who her real guardian was, Kiera looked to the older man as the grandfather she never had. She was quite looking forward to a nice chat with Dumbledore and it managed to put her in a good mood for the rest of the day.


	9. New Beginnings

_**BLYANA**_

* * *

Wednesday, the fourth, it was an exhausting day; my cloak was drenched in rainwater from walking to Herbology. I felt like something important was happening today, my brain refused to recall the information. I looked through my bag while I placed it on the wet floor and found a crumpled letter. The letter said my full name and in the top left corner it read "Albus Dumbledore."

As class started, I ran out the door, into the pouring rain with my already drenched cloak. The rain sent calm thoughts into my mind, though it was racing because of my forgetfulness. The stairs of the castle had puddles left from my robes and my bag; it was hard not to slip.

Mr. Filch caught me two minutes later, and the look on his face told me he was not happy. "What do you think you're doing? Class started less than five minutes ago."

"I"m trying to get to my meeting with Dumbledore," I panted lightly.

"Dumbledore doesn't want to see you," he sneered at me. I glared at him as I dropped my bag on the floor, dug through the already disorganized mess, and pulled out the damp proof.

"Here, take a look for yourself." I shoved the letter in his face, and he snatched it from me, giving me a glare of his own. He opened the letter and his eyes went wide.

"Well then, run along, _Blyana Evelyn Cultivire_," the caretaker grumbled at me as he handed the letter back to my open hand, and I kind of regretted letting him see part of my personal life.

I vaguely remembered what floor the headmaster's office was on, but then a picture of the floor came to mind. It was the third floor, where both the office and the out-of-bounds right-hand side corridor was located.

Hurriedly, I trotted up the stairs and to the left-hand side corridor, hopefully where Dumbledore's office was. As I walked down the hallway, I realized that there weren't any doors, at all, not even the tricky ones. How was his office supposed to be here if there weren't any entrances in the first place? It was utterly bewildering, but I suppose that's what one would expect in a magical school.

"Ahh, Ms. Cultivire," came a Scottish voice. It was Professor McGonagall and she was standing in front of a gargoyle, which looked ghastly to my own eyes. "You're late for your meeting with Professor Dumbledore." McGonagall gave me a stern look, silently lecturing me on my lack of punctuality.

I looked down in shame, mumbling a quiet, "Sorry."

Professor McGonagall shook her head. "Nothing to be done about it. Now come one, he's waiting." The professor turned to the stone gargoyle behind her.

"Peppermint toads," the professor said clearly to the inanimate object. Much to my surprise, it sprang to life and jumped out of the way for the professor and me to pass.

We walked up the stairs, my feet ached as we went higher up. The oak doors were open when we reached the end of the stairs, Kiera's hair gleamed in the lightened room. There were three chairs in the room one for me another for apparently Kiera and the other for Dumboledor at his desk. There was a phoenix in the room also, with colorful feathers of red, yellow, gold and orange.

At the sound of my entrance, Kiera jolted around and spotted me. Her eyes first went wide, then they narrowed to glare at me. "What is she doing here?" She asked Dumbledore, a rude note to her voice.

" Thank you, Minerva." The scottish woman closed the doors and left. "Well, as you know, she got a letter the other day as well, which I've heard you dropped in a bowl of milk." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled with amusement and I blushed. "But the true reason is something of a much more sensitive matter," the professor paused to carefully form his next words, "You both possess powers that are thought to be a myth. As you know, you are polymorphmagis."

"Wait, wait, you are telling me we have the same rare ability to change into more than one animal… both of us?" I said in confusion, pointing from myself to Kiera.

"That is correct Ms. Cultivire. Would you like some candy?" He gave us both a pleasured look.

"Oh! Sugared butterfly wings please, those are my absolute favorite!" I said with great delight.

"And for you?" He conjured a single package of sugared butterfly wings, then turned to Kiera.

"Uh, no thank you," Kiera said, shaking her head.

"Oh, come now, Miss Snape, your uncle has told me of your affinity for pumpkin pasties." With a twinkle in his eye, Dumbledore waved his wand and a plate filled with pumpkin pasties appeared in Kiera's lab.

Surprised, Kiera muttered, "Thank you," and took a bite out of one of her sweets.

"Now that we are all settled, let us begin what we came here to discuss. Both of you have been gifted with some rather rare abilities, which most thought to be a myth, myself included until you began your schooling. It has come to my notice that it is sometimes hard for you to complete transformation or to do them at all." I noticed Kiera shifted uncomfortably in her seat; I tried to hide the uncomfortable face I was performing. "And I'd like to offer some lessons to the both of you."

"But isn't Professor McGonagall the Transfiguration teacher?" Kiera blurted out, then covered her mouth, blushing. "Sorry, professor," she mumbled.

"Quite alright, Miss Snape. It is true that Minerva is the current professor of the subject, but I have been known to dabble in the topic, and I figured the less people who knew of your abilities, the better. Unless you'd like me to ask her to teach you?" Professor Dumbledore raised his eyebrow, though he was smiling brightly.

"No, I-"

"I think we'll be just fine with you, for you are the leader of this school," I interrupted Kiera.

"Oh, you are too kind, Miss Cultivire." I smiled at the comment.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Kiera giving me an annoyed look. What was her problem? Did she want to be friends or not?

"Professor Dumbledore, does the Ministry know of our, um, abilities?" Kiera asked, putting her last sweet down. Wait, last? What happened to the rest?

"I was about to touch on that. Well, as you have assumed, they don't know quite yet, but they may find out in the future if you allow them to." The last of the pumpkin pasties were gone and with me at the edge of my seat, I couldn't possibly finish my treats.

"No, professor. Thank you for keeping it a secret." Kiera tucked her hair behind her ear, clearly something else on her mind.

"What other doubts do you have, Miss Snape, if I may ask," Dumbledore asked politely.

"I was just wondering, professor, and I don't wish to be rude, but why are you helping us? You could leave us well alone and it wouldn't affect you or the other students," Kiera asked with uncertainty in her voice.

"It's because Albus Dumboledor knows all," I whispered to Kiera with a very dramatic hand motion. Kiera looked unamused, but Dumbledore lightly chuckled.

"Thank you, Miss Cultivire. Though I do not know the truthfulness of that statement, I can answer Miss Snape's question. While myself and others, and perhaps even yourself, may not be affected by these abilities now, they will grow in power, and if left unchecked, could have disastrous consequences for everyone. Also, I thought it might be helpful for you if I taught you." Dumbledore smiled kindly, his eyes twinkling with wisdom.

As my curiosity came to life from the many explicit things in the room, I glanced at the interesting clock and realized that we only have twenty minutes to get to our next classes, it was almost time for Charms. "Excuse me, but how long is this meeting supposed to go, because we have charms and we wouldn't want to be late."

"Well, as long as you would like you may come and leave as you wish. Do not hesitate to ask if you have any questions." The old man's beard glistened.

"Professor, when and where are we supposed to meet you for these lessons?" Kiera asked as I got up and slung my bag onto my shoulder.

"Oh, yes, I suppose you would need to know that. How about Tuesdays and Thursdays during dinner in the unused dungeons on the very bottom floor? No one would think to find you two there."

"Sounds good to me, dark and mysterious, I'll be there!" I ran to the stairs. "Oh and thanks." I poked my head around the corner of the doorway. "Um, but where is the charm's classroom."

"Turn left, then right at the intersection. Your classroom should be the third one on the left," Dumbledore answered cheerily. "Do have a good lesson, girls."

"Thank you, professor," Kiera mumbled as she too got up and took her bag.

"It's so cool to know someone who can do the same thing as I can! Ok, but I think we may need a new start… Hi, I'm Blyana Cultivire, but you can call me Bly." I held out my hand as we reached the end of the staircase. She looked at it for a moment, then took it.

"I'm Kiera Snape," she said tentatively, as if she expected a negative reaction from me.

"So do your transformations turn completely white too?" I asked with excitement, following the instructions the old professor gave us.

"Err, no. The complete opposite, actually, I turn black, though my eyes stay the same."

"My eyes stay the same color too, and that's why I got a white mouse so I could pretend to be it and roam the halls." We took a left.

"That's not an entirely bad idea," Kiera admitted.

"Well I haven't tested it out yet, but hopefully I won't get caught." I smiled as we took a right. "Wait do you have a pitch black pet?" My energy levels went up.

"No, I don't like animals."

"Oh… well, you can always get one next year!" Trying to put a positive note to it, though her reaction told me she wasn't overly fond of taking my advice. I looked down the hall as crowds of people came rushing out of the classroom doors. Was it the second or the third door, maybe it was the fourth?

Kiera silently answered for me when she opened the third door on the left and slipped into the classroom. She did so quietly, as if she didn't want anyone to notice her.

But I definitely noticed, she must've been so lonely the way she acted was just sad and drooping.

"Do you want to hang out later? Why don't we become partners in this class!" My mind exploded with things we could do together, picnics in the forest, hiding in the library till the morning comes, and becoming the best friends ever. This has been the only time someone actually acknowledged me, that isn't a confusing boy or my grandma!

"I, uh, sure," she mumbled, sliding into an empty chair in the farthest corner from the front.

"Really all the way in the back? We are going dead center in the front. Come on?" I grabbed her hand dragging her to the desks closer to the teacher. "You know you always learn better if your in the front." I gave her a sly smile.

She scrunched up her face, obviously displeased. "Don't touch me," she muttered, ripping her hand out of mine. "Please," she added as an afterthought.

As I sat down next to my new friend, I thought about the magical adventures that we could go on together.

Kiera, meanwhile, took out a parchment, quill, and ink. She didn't talk much, or at all. It was kinda hard to keep up a conversation with her.

I realized that she had her quill and paper out and reminded myself that I had to take notes too. I put my pink bag onto my lap. I traced the white swirls on the backpack. Soon the teacher would be coming out of his duties, and I had to be ready. I quickly grabbed my SUPER SPARKLY ink, quill, and plain paper out of the messy bag. Thankfully the paper wasn't soaked from the rain.


	10. Interruption in Transfiguration

_**KIERA**_

* * *

The first week at Hogwarts was stressful, to say the least. Adjusting to the busy schedule for all of our lessons, along with all the homework and studying was enough, but to make it worse, Severus insisted on using me as his personal assistant. Maybe because I was the only potions competent person in this entire school, and that's including the house-elves.

Thankfully, it was Friday and the last lesson of the afternoon. It would've been perfect, with just my work for Transfiguration to concentrate on, if it had not been Severus's request for extra toad guts for his classroom.

Begrudgingly, I fulfilled his wishes and gathered jars of the toad guts from his private storeroom near his office. I gagged at the smell coming from the jars; it was like a combination of rotten eggs, frog mucus, and troll toenails. I was going to smell like that for the rest of the day. How fantastic.

Hurrying so as not to miss too much of Transfiguration, I carried the jars down into the dungeon. I'm pretty sure Severus always asked me because he wanted to see me suffer. The jars of toad guts were heavy and awkward to carry. It was highly possible that I dropped them.

Finally, I found Severus's classroom. The door was closed, but I couldn't knock nor could I open it. I settled for banging my head against the door. My head was kind of dizzy when a terrified Neville opened the door for me.

"What took you so long?" Severus snapped when I entered the room. I bit back a retort as I scurried behind him. He was obviously short-tempered today and I wasn't willing to tempt him to give me a detention.

With his attention now directed away from me, I began to organize the toad guts onto his selves. Normally, he wouldn't even let the house-elves do this, but I knew how he arranged the ingredients. Severus was very particular about the order, so I made sure to be careful.

"Potter!" Severus said suddenly. "What would I get if I added perfected root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

The last jar fell to the floor, shattering it on the stone and splattering toad guts into my robes. Did he just…? No, but… I thought he hated him?

The root of my shock and confusion could not be understood by many, but they were Severus's words. When I was younger, Severus taught me the Victorian Language of Flowers, a language that only the best potions masters knew. To put it simply, Severus just said: "_I bitterly regret Lily's death."_ He was _apologizing_ to Harry, something he barely ever did for me.

"Miss Snape, what is the matter?" Severus snapped, bringing my attention back.

"Nothing, professor," I mumbled quickly and began to clean up the toad guts. He probably didn't want me to draw attention to his words. As I cleaned up the mess, I felt Severus's glare on me, daring me to speak another word.

"Clean up quickly, then leave and return to your class. I don't want to see you again today." Severus turned back to his class and began to drone on about potions once more.

"Do you want some help cleaning up that awful smelling mess?" A voice said from one of the dusty tables. I looked up to see Blyana Cultivire, the girl who I would be taking lessons from Professor Dumbledore with her. I thought her to be a peculiar girl that talked too much and was much to open in my opinion.

I nodded quickly, then ducked my head hurriedly to work. Talking wasn't much of my thing, in case you couldn't tell. With both of us working, the mess was cleaned up and the shards of the broken glass thrown into the rubbish bin.

"What is this stuff even for? I mean I have generations after generations of wizards that work with potions and I don't know what this would possibly be for."

"Flesh-Eating Slug Repellent. The slugs are allergic to the acids inside of toad guts," I answered her. The ease as to which I answered the question was not a surprise; Severus had taught me potions himself and I knew each year's textbook cover to cover.

"Why didn't I think of that." Her snow colored hair flipped as she sat back at her table with a curly blond boy, who seemed to be in Slytherin, judging by the crest on his robes.

When Severus shot both me and Cultivire a dirty look, I quickly ran out of the classroom. By the time I returned to Transfiguration class, my mind still hadn't left the dungeons. I namely had two questions from my encounters during my trip, and I didn't have answers for either. Why did Severus apologize to Harry in a language that only a few select individuals in the castle understood, and why would Cultivire help me?

The first one I couldn't even begin to comprehend, but I could take a few guesses for the second one. Maybe she wanted something in return, or perhaps she was hoping Dumbledore would hear of it and like her even more. It might even have to do with that boy that was sitting next to, maybe she wanted to impress him?

Before opening the door and entering Professor McGonagall's classroom, I rubbed my head and sighed. Social situations were such a mystery to myself, and that made life increasingly difficult here at Hogwarts. Good thing the weekend is coming up, I can stay in bed all day and study.

I pushed the door open and settled back in my seat. Thankfully, McGonagall caught me up with what we were learning since I had been gone. Today, it was turning a match into a needle. It seemed simple enough since I could transfigure myself at will, but I shortly learned that the two concepts were widely different.

I glared at my match, silently willing it to change on its own after I had attempted and failed to change it many times before. Some of the other Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs had figured it out, but transfiguring something else into what I wanted was the most difficult thing in the world. I couldn't understand why; I transformed myself at least once or twice a month, so why was it so difficult for me to complete this simple task?

"You have to imagine it in your mind," the Ravenclaw boy who sat next to me instructed. I didn't answer, pretending not to have heard him. When I didn't respond, he sighed and showed me his needle that had previously been a match.

"See this? This is a needle. You can't transfigure the object unless you know exactly what you're changing it too." The boy put his needle down and watched me as if he was trying to figure me out. "Works different for animagis, though, that's what McGonagall told us earlier. That's why one animagi can be horrible Transfiguration but change themselves just fine. Thought that was interesting, but you probably don't want me to drone on anymore."

For a moment, I almost had a heart attack. I thought he had figured out my secret somehow, and that was why he was mentioning, but of course, he was a Ravenclaw, always willing to share knowledge.

"No, it's alright. Thank you," I mumbled, barely audible. The boy broke out in a grin.

"So she speaks! I'm Terry Boot, by the way." The boy stuck out his hand for a handshake.

Hesitantly, I took it and replied, "Kiera." I got back to work after that, this time taking Boot's advice. Soon, I finally managed to do it, I turned the match into a needle. Boot wasn't too far off with the idea of imagining it in your mind, but years of it just coming naturally to me both helped and hindered the spell.

"My mates didn't think you would talk," Boot said unexpectedly. Not that I wanted to prove his friends right, but I kept quiet, a natural instinct of mine. "And they were mostly right." He laughed slightly.

My trip to the dungeons had been near the end of class, so it didn't take long for the bell to ring and we were dismissed. I gathered up my things and neatly organized them into my back, taking extra care so that my ink would spill all over my parchments and books.

"Hey, Kiera, want to sit next to me and my friends at lunch?" Boot asked after he placed his textbook and parchment into his bag.

"I, uh, sure." I didn't think I'd be much of a conversationalist with them, but Boot had asked and I didn't want to be impolite.

Boot politely waited for me while I gently rolled up my parchments and placed them carefully in my bag. I hated messes, and that was surely what my bag would become if I didn't take care of it.

When I finished, Boot led me to a group of Ravenclaws that were in our year. It wasn't that big of a group, but it made me nervous all the same. Boot introduced me to everyone: there was Anthony Goldstein, Micheal Corner, Lisa Turpin, Stephen Cornfoot, and Su Li.

They all seemed nice enough, but it wouldn't be long before they showed their true sides and stab me in the back. Did I have trust issues? Most likely.

Despite my unease, lunch was pleasant. The house-elves had prepared a nice meal of sandwiches and crisps. Nothing all that fancy, but well enough for me. As we ate, the others animatedly discussed the topics we had learned throughout the week, from Herbology to Potions. All of them, excluding Boot and Li, were still having trouble understanding the potions concepts from this week. I wanted to help, but I was absolutely terrified of speaking up. I didn't know any of them all that well and I did not want to make a fool of myself or seem impolite.

Goldstein forced the answer to my dilemma by asking if I understood.

"Yes, curing boils is simple, you just have to make sure to crush your snake fangs correctly, and in the second to last step, you have to stir once counter-clockwise, otherwise, the ingredients most likely won't mix," I explained, then I shut up because I had been blabbering again.

"Brilliant, how do you know that?" Corner asked. I stared at him blankly; it was surely obvious. My last name was Snape, of course, I would know a thing or two about potions.

"It doesn't really matter, Micheal," Li said gently, "We can finish our potions homework now. Thank you, Kiera."

I nodded my welcome to her. Corner still didn't look satisfied with his unanswered query, but the bell rang for the end of lunch. I gathered my things, then nearly ran from the hall before anyone could catch up with me. With my afternoon off until Astronomy tonight, I was going to the library.


	11. Preposterous Potions

_**BLYANA**_

* * *

The girl with the pretty silver dipped hair left the potions classroom without another word. I kind of felt bad for her, she probably wasn't getting along with anyone else but me, but then again you never know.

I just happened to have potions with the Slytherins, giving me an opportunity to have a great time with Lucas or completely embarrass myself in front of the whole class. Either one was a possibility.

"Who was that?" Lucas asked with a confused tone.

"Oh, that was Professor Snape's niece and my new friend. Doesn't she have the most awesome hair you have ever seen?" I gave him a silly grin.

"Okay, yeah, but why did she drop those things she had?"

I was questioning this also, she just suddenly dropped the toad lungs when Snape said some random thing to Harry Potter.

_Was it some kind of secret code…_just kidding my imagination just flies sometimes.

"I don't know much about it but, I'll ask her. She's kind of anti-social though, but I have my techniques." I gave him a smirk, he smirked back. I blushed and he blushed back. Were we in a chick flick or something?

"You know I really do wonder why you weren't put in Slytherin." My smirk faded, reminding me of my father. If I had been put in Slytherin, I would have more time to spend with Lucas but I would become like my father and just thinking about it makes me get all depressed. Lucas noticed my smirk was gone.

"You ok? Was it something I said?" I shook my head, but I think my expression was enough to tell him I was lying. Thoughts of my childhood were flashing through my brain, I couldn't make it stop, I just couldn't. I had tried to suppress them, but it wasn't working.

_My dad handed me an ice pack for the bruise on my forehead. The ice cream melting in my hands as he gave me an extremely large ice cream cone. The hugs and kisses he gave me coming home from work._

_"Now remember, your gifted and that's a secret for your mom, me, G-g and you to figure out why and how to use it." My dad's strong voice talked to me, deep in thought, though I was only six. _

_"Does that mean I have magical powers daddy?" I asked. _

_"Yes sweetie, exactly." The manly figure kissed me on the head and lead me into the small house._

Lucas wiggled my shoulder gently.

"I'm fine just need... a break." I flicked his hand off myself. I took a deep breath to clear my mind and asked the professor to go to the bathroom.

"Be quick about it, when I mean quick I mean thirty seconds... now!" The professor snapped at me, I ran out the door. The memories just kept coming, waterfalls were coming from my face when I went into the girl's bathroom. I closed the last stall door and poured my heart out. I tried to cheer myself up with some corny jokes, but they were jokes my dad used to say.

"Why do the..._snif… _cows need, bells?" I asked myself trying to calm down. "Because… _sniff_… their horns… _sniff_… don't work. Haha ha, dad told me that one, the day of it all." And there I went again crying my eyes out.

The door of the bathroom swung open, I tried my hardest to keep my crying down to a minimum.

"Professor Snape says it's been more than thirty seconds." The voice sounded familiar. "Come on we can talk about it. All you have to do is come out," she said, becoming forceful. I realized who it was. It was Joselein

"You'll have to find me first," I said as I got an idea. She started to bang on the stall doors and mine and said:

"I know you're in there, lover girl. Are you waiting for Lucas to come and save you from your terrible problems?" A shocking pain went down my back. "Come out I know you're in there." I unlocked the door to the stall with a click. She ripped the door open to reveal no one to be in the stall. The girl looked so confused she could faint. She went and opened the rest of the stalls, then fell to the ground in a daze of shock.

Lucky me, all I had to do was crawl over her with my light pink paws, make my way through the crack of the door with my small white body, and scuttle down to the classroom.

I made it back to the door of the dungeons and transformed back from my disguise of a white mouse to my normal form. Another shock of pain went down my spine. I grunted from the pain; it was the singular reason I didn't transform more often.

I made my way to my seat next to Lucas. "What I miss?" I asked my partner.

"Not much, all he did was confuse me. I mean you were only gone for thirty seconds," Lucas whispered back to me, with a wink.

"Well, I can help with that. I have many generations in my family that do potions fairly well, and I happen to be one of them."

"So what happened with Joselein?" He asked as he jotted down a couple of notes.

"I'll have to tell you later, but I will tell you it was hilarious."

Professor Snape gave me a glare. "Cultivire… where did Miss Kiff go?"

"Oh, she decided she was going to skip class and I told her that I wasn't going with her and that I just needed to use the privy," I said plainly.

"Who knew that Cultivire could lie like a pro?" Lucas whispered.

Professor Snape glared at me for a very long time and I thought he wouldn't believe me, but finally, he said, "Thank you for informing me. She will have detention for a week and Slytherin will be deducted ten points." He did not smile at this and neither did any of the Slytherins, including Lucas.

"Oh, great, now I'm going to have Slytherin enemies…" I knew it. I could feel the glares of the snakes, just tearing me apart again. I stood firm this time and kept my tears in, for the better. I thought of the first day and any of my encounters with my friends in the past. The day I met Lucas was like a dream come true, and creating another good relationship would be great, maybe with Kiera.

As the class period went on it got more difficult to keep the tears from slipping down my face, I let one go, but nobody saw.

Finally, the class finished well into the afternoon. I ran out of the room once the teacher dismissed us. Lucas followed me, his blond curly hair bouncing gently. Gosh, I wanted to touch it.

He finally caught up with me when I was a couple of feet away from my common room, I was not in the mood to talk with him.

"Come on, why do you have to walk so fast?" The boy asked as he panted from his jog. "Why aren't you talking? And what happened?"

"First off… I did do cross country when I was in Muggle school. Then to answer your second question, I'm not in the mood and I want to be alone. And I'll tell you what happened later, just like I said before, ok."

A sudden warmth was in my hand.

"Get off of me!" I yelled, feeling the old tears coming back. I tried to shake off the hand, but his grip stayed firm. "I said get off!" The warmth faded away and I felt a slight chill without it.

"I just wanted to help… " The footsteps of Lucas faded out of reach. The chill only grew, settling itself in my heart. Why were emotions so complicated? I hurried to my dormitory and threw myself onto my bed.

I eventually cried myself to sleep. Some hours later, I woke up and I got out my notes as I sat up in bed.

"You know you're not going to pass the test with those notes, you never know what the test will be over," a voice said over my shoulder. It turned out that the smartest girl in all of my classes was over my shoulder I couldn't even recall her name, but did I have a grudge against her.

"Well, what do you suggest?" I replied giving her an annoyed look with a fake smile.

Now I remembered. Hermoine Granger was her name, she had devilish curly dirty blond hair that was always frizzy, but she didn't have many friends. For good reason too; even I could barely stand her constant need to correct everyone and everything.

"What I suggest is that you get the most out of the lesson instead of talking to your Ravenclaw friend." She turned her back to me and headed towards the stairs to the common room and walked away to the fire.

I walked to the doorway out of the common room and made my way to the library.

There were hundreds of books here that I would probably never read, but I knew someone who could have read half of them in a year. Kiera… she was a very talented reader that one, I could tell by just looking at her; she was pale and pasty like she spent too much time indoors. The chance that I would find her in the library was very high.

I swerved my way through the shelves and towers of books and found my way towards the tables. There were plenty of tables that were empty, but one had a pretty large stack of books and I could see a hint of black and silver hair from the tops of the towers.

I moved a couple of books out of the way to make out her face, and, sure enough, it was her. I moved another stack of books to the other empty table with a thud. The book Kiera was reading slipped out of her hands as she jumped almost a mile in the air.

"What do you want?" The girl snapped with annoyance.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to… let me borrow your charms notes," I said quickly.

"Why do you need them?" She asked, picking up her dropped book.

"I just forgot to write down a couple of things." I tried to keep a straight face.

She stared at me, suspicious. After a while, she said: "Fine, but you have to take your own notes next time." She carefully removed a parchment from her bag and laid it out on the table for me to read. "Don't get ink on it or smudge the words."

I looked over it and realized that she had _horrible_ handwriting, like really bad. It wasn't unreadable, but it was way sloppier than I imagined it to be, especially since it was her writing. But it would work if I just rewrote the readable, to prove the snob, Hermoine, wrong. I used my quill and ink to organize her notes and I ended up making two copies, so I secretly gave her one.

"What are you guys doing? Slipping notes? What happened? Hmm?" A figure weaved in and out of view in between the shelves, the tone of the female voice was slightly sarcastic.

"Kiera, I need to talk to you, I need to _transform_ these notes, but I need to know what they say." I winked.

"Why?" She stared blankly at me. For being so smart, she was incredibly dumb to not even understand the implied part of my message.

"Because I have a, uh, situation." I gave her my pleading forceful puppy eyes. Before we were able to escape the situation, someone tapped my shoulder. I assumed it was my enemy from the bathroom, so I snapped my head around to glare at them, but it wasn't Joselein, but someone with the hood of their robes covering their eyes.

"Psst… follow me." It was a smooth deep voice, though it sounded like it should be higher. The figure, with a hood, went to a shelf on the wall, pulled a couple of books off the shelf, then dropped them. The boy pulled off his hood, I could recognize him just by the back of his head. He continued to work on the books.

"Lucas, I wouldn't expect you to be in the library." I lightly hit his shoulder.

"You'd be surprised how much reading I can get in a couple of hours." He glanced over his shoulder and immediately went back to work.

"I still don't understand why she's following me." I turned my head.

"Don't worry about it." His tone sounded harsh.

"What are you two doing?" I jumped, but it was only Kiera. She had her bag over her shoulder as if she had been preparing to leave when she noticed I was missing.

"We were just-" I started, but the blond boy cut me off.

"Doing this…" there was a clicking noise and a small door opened. The size of the door was comparable to a small four-year-old. There was another click and a larger door was opened. "I figured this one out yesterday, but we don't have much time to talk, I'll tell you guys later. Come on." He waved his had after his entrance.

"I don't trust him." Kiera folded her arms and looked Lucas up and down, sizing him up.

"Yeah, I don't know about this either, but it's my only way out of this so here goes."

"Wait, this is a horrible idea, and-" She didn't get the chance to finish because I was already dashing down the steps, miraculously not slipping. I glanced back at her and saw that she was debating whether or not to go with us. A little while later, she was hurrying down the steps after me, the hidden door closing behind her. Now our only light source was cut off.

"_Lumos_," the voice of Kiera whispered and the tip of her wand started to glow. Impressed, I glanced at her, now that I could see, and noticed a small purple gem thing at the end of her wand. Was it there before, when we ran into each other at Ollivander's? I couldn't be sure, but now wasn't really the time to think about that anyway.

"I want it put on the record that I think both of you are idiots. And the only reason I came was to make there aren't any _incidents_." She gave me a very pointed look. Jeez, she can drop hints like nobody else but she can't even pick one up.

"Noted," Lucas chipped in, "Come on, we've got a ways to go to get out."

We went down and down and down what felt like millions of stairs, which made Kiera's legs ache along with Lucas's. Not mine though; and G-g said cross-country would be useless in Hogwarts.

"This would be a great time for an explanation!" Kiera paused in her tracks, panting, and attempted to catch her breath.

"I wouldn't mind a break." The outline of the boy's body flopped with a popping sound onto the cement, while Kiera gracefully sat down and pulled her skirt over her knees.

Lucas opened his mouth to explain, but a new voice interrupted him.

"Alright, Briar. I've given you enough time. I'm done waiting for an explanation." The voice came from just out of reach of Kiera's light. I could barely see the outline of their robes.

"We have a situation with FSJK. FSJK was following us and I don't know why. FSJK had a problem with FGBC. I don't know the whole story," Lucas informed the mysterious person.

"What in Merlin's name are you talking about, and who are you talking to?" Kiera asked.

"Its a code. F is female, S is Slytherin, and JK is her initials. I thought a Ravenclaw could figure that out," the figure explained, a rude tone to his voice. Kiera put her wand closer to the figure's face.

"You really shouldn't have done that," Lucas said as all four of us cringed. It was Draco Malfoy. I didn't know him well, but I could recognize his pale hair from the Sorting Ceremony.

"Helena's cup and Rowena's stockings," Kiera breathed in shock. I had to admit, it was an interesting choice of words. "Malfoy?"

"What is _she_ doing here? What are both of them doing here?" He sneered at Lucas, ignoring Kiera. They must not like each other all that much then, judging from the way she was fiercely glaring at him.

"Um, well… just a second." Lucas raised a finger. He took both Kiera's and my shoulders, facing us away from the boy. "'Kay, just trust me on this one, play along." The boy zipped us back around, making me a little dizzy.

"Ok?" I said quietly. Kiera and I glanced at each other, Kiera giving me an accusing look. _Well, what do you want me to do about it?_ I tried to convey through my expression. She rolled her eyes, then went back to watching the scene play out, distrustful of how this was going to turn up.

"They figured the tunnel out and I closed the door on them and made sure they didn't go anywhere they weren't supposed to. I caught 'em." He grabbed both of our cloaks, but Kiera shoved him off and threatened to turn his teeth into wood if he touched her again.

"Sorry, but we need to reach the end of the tunnel." Lucas threw up his hands in surrender and we were allowed to walk down the millions of steps left.

What felt like hours, but it was probably minutes, later there was a flicker of light that looked like a star out in the distance. The Slytherin common room. I always wondered what it would look like in the other common rooms.

"Put your hoods on and follow me," Malfoy told us sharply.

"And cover your patches and any sign that you're in a different house," the other blond said, specifically the one that was actually attractive

"Look not be rude or anything but your common room is really, well, boring." They were on one of the lowest floors of the castle, making them have dull grey bricks as walls with absolutely no decoration except for a huge Slytherin crest banner. The had snakes here and there, but there wasn't much to look at, though there was a fireplace with a roaring fire.

"What you guys suggest we add?" Malfoy asked me.

"I don't know, it's your common room, not mine."

"Shhh, or Snape will catch us, and we don't want that to happen," Lucas said, looking around.

"Or our prefect. That guy is worse than Potter." Malfoy walking strode confidently towards the door out of the common room.

Before I could follow him, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"I am pretty sure you two aren't supposed to be here." A man with black greasy hair turned us around and took off our hoods. Professor Snape had caught us.


	12. Brewing Trouble

_**KIERA** _

* * *

_Merlin's beard_, I cursed in my head. Severus had caught us, and knowing him, I was going to be detention for at least two lifetimes.

"And what, may I ask, are you doing here?" Severus drawled, directing the question more towards me. Malfoy backed out of the situation into what looked like a very uncomfortable chair. "Not so fast, Mr. Malfoy. All four of you, in my office, now."

Briar and Cultivire quickly hurried after the professor, while Malfoy and I lagged behind to give each other death glares. Oh, how he aggravated me, and I couldn't even call him out on it because we're supposed to be "best friends". I seriously hate his parents, the only ones that want us to be friends. Something about friendly ties to other families; I knew they were just friends so the Malfoys could keep in the loop of life at Hogwarts.

We stayed silent down to his office. I had never been inside before, but the setup was very similar to what he had at his house. It even contained the same scent of different brewing potions and potion ingredients.

By the way Severus swooped over to his side of the desk and sit down, he was not happy. We are in so much trouble; I'd be lucky if I'm not flayed alive.

"Now, Cultivire, Miss Snape, would you mind telling me what you were doing in the _Slytherin_ common room, which, if I remember correctly, is neither of your houses." Snape's glare was enough to make a grown man break down, and it was definitely enough to make Cultivire spill everything. But the girl didn't say anything at first like she was expecting me to say something.

"Well Professor, we were just in the library going over some notes together and we heard about some book that could help us out. So we got our things and went to look for the information that could help us get ready for the next test. We found it and discovered a hidden passageway. We were curious and we went into it. The steps made our feet ache. Soon we were found by these two boys and they told us that there was only one way out of the passageway, through the Slytherin's common room. And now we're here." She was confident, but it was partially true. I was impressed, she could lie pretty okay, but there was one key factor she forgot.

"Interesting story, Miss Cultivire, but I believe that tests, for any subject, do not begin for another week." Snape grin as if he just got us in a deadly trap.

"But, Professor Snape," I quickly jumped in, "It's never too early to start studying. You told me yourself that I better spend all my free time studying."

Snape's smirk disappeared as I used his own logic against him. He had no other evidence to convict us of purposely sneaking into his common room, and therefore we would not receive a detention.

"Well then," the professor said, "I guess there is only one more question to ask… why were you boys in that passageway?" His smirk never returned to his face, clearly upset that Plan A had backfired.

"Do you want the truth or a story like Cultivire's?" Malfoy asked grinning.

"Are you accusing me of not telling the truth?" The blond girl's face went red. She looked like she could explode.

"Yes, I do believe that is what I'm saying. Is your brain to small to process that?" The boy's grin grew. I stomped on his foot underneath the table and his smirk turned into a grimace of pain.

"I think what my _dearest_ _friend_ is trying to say," I grit my teeth at the use of the word, "Professor, is that he doesn't know the full story of what exactly happened. But Cultivire, I assure you, is telling the truth."

"I agree completely," Briar said, trying to get himself included in the conversation. He's such an attention hog.

"Truly intriguing, Miss Snape and Mr. Malfoy, but you still haven't answered my question. Why were you boys in the passageway?" He had a tone that probably meant he wanted to get back to business, instead of watch pre-teens argue.

"Sir, Draco and I were on our way to the library, we were going to frighten a couple of readers." Briar's word would have been convincing if the man he was lying to hadn't spent years with snakes.

"Liar," the man said, "You can't even scare a squirrel."

I bit my lip to stop laughing. Sure it was a little rude, but it was kind of funny, and I didn't like Briar or any student in this room for that matter.

"What he failed to say was that I was going to do that, while he was helping the girls find the way out." Malfoy smiled graciously, a far better liar than Briar. But I couldn't quite understand something; was Malfoy actually being _nice_ to Briar and trying to help him out. And if so, why? Probably trying to himself out of trouble; Malfoy would never help anyone unless something was in it for him.

"Yes, and we owe it to this idio-" Cultivire elbowed me in the stomach to stop me from finishing my sentence. Luckily, Snape hadn't seen. "Excuse me, I mean _gentlemen_ for helping us out of the corridor."

Snape stared at us for a very long time, his fingers intertwined in a thinking pose. He was deciding if he had enough evidence to send us to detention. Fortunately, he did not.

"Fine, I'll let you off with a warning and your Head of Houses will be notified of the incident. But if I ever catch you two," he glared pointedly at me and Cultivire, "In the Slytherin common room again, there will be consequences. Now go!"

Cultivire and Briar jumped and rushed out of the office. Malfoy followed behind them but in less of a hurry. I was more deliberate with my exit, just to annoy my uncle. Risky, yes, but oh so pleasing when I saw the look on his face.

As soon as I was out of sight of Professor Snape, I let out a breath of relief. That was a close one. It would look bad on my record to have detention in the first week. And I wouldn't even be close to having detention if it hadn't been for Briar and Cultivire.

Instead of bursting like a piñata out of anger, I marched away in silence. I was far too uncomfortable to shout at them because I barely knew them. If it had been Severus, however, he would've gotten an earful.

"Did anyone else think that we were this close from getting into trouble?" The blond girl put up two fingers very close together, then relaxed her walking speed.

"Yes, thanks to you dunderheads," Malfoy sneered. He was obviously unhappy about almost getting in trouble as well.

"We should find a hangout place for us, it would be fun to be updated on the latest news," Cultivire said with lots of enthusiasm.

I laughed wryly. "Yes, because I'd love to spend even more time with you lot."

"Why does it have to be this way, why can't we just be friends? You know you were one of the first friends I've ever gotten… why… Just why?" The dramatic girl went off like a bomb. She was obviously still unhappy about the incident with Malfoy.

"Why? Why! Because whenever I'm around you, you land me in trouble. Do you know hard it is already? All the stares and the glares and the nasty comments are enough. You don't understand how _difficult _it is, to be related to the one person that everybody hates. I don't need you to get me in trouble every thirty seconds, and with my uncle no less! He's already mad at me for getting into Ravenclaw instead of Slytherin."

My breath was ragged by the time I finished shouting, the one thing I'd sworn not to do. They all looked at me, with nothing but shock on their faces. They hadn't expected the quiet girl to shout at them, and neither had I. I needed to go.

My heels clicked on the stone floor as I ran away. I didn't know where I was going, anywhere was better than here. Oh, I had so disgracefully embarrassed myself in front of them and I barely even knew them. They probably hated me, probably thought I was some hot-headed little girl who couldn't handle her own problems. But I wasn't a little girl, not anymore. And I didn't need their approval.

I bolted through the door of the dormitories; the slamming door didn't cause anyone to look up, not even the prefects. It must be a frequent occurrence in the Ravenclaw house.

Throwing my bag onto my bed, I dug through my trunk to find what I was looking for. Finally, I pulled out an old, tattered book. On the front, in fancy golden letters, was the title: _The Fantastical Adventures. _The binding was worn from the many times I had opened it; each time had been when I needed some comfort when no one else offered any.

After tracing the golden letters, I opened to the first page. The page contained a picture of two 18-year-old girls with the same dark blonde hair and pale complexion. They looked identical, except their eyes were extremely different. One had eyes that were an icy blue color while the other had purple eyes. You could tell they got along really well in the picture. They were laying in a leaf pile outside the castle, laughing their heads off and occasionally throwing leaves at each other. The page included one of the leaves laminated and dried.

There was a short poem underneath in my mother's handwriting:

_Hogwarts was fun but it's time to leave_

_I'm so grateful for the many memories._

_My sister and I are done here_

_And now it's time we see what's out there__**.**_

A small smile alighted on my face at the sight of the familiar words I had read so many times before. I closed the book and held it to my chest.

"I wish you were here," I whispered, "Then you could teach me how to deal with… people."

Growing up without my mom, or any female figure in my life had left me without one key factor; people skills. I've never had friends my age; it was too dangerous to have any when I was younger because my powers were too hard to control. It was safer for everyone if I just stayed home. But I suppose I had one thing to look forward to now; Dumbledore was going to teach me how to use my powers, help me control them.

I opened the book once more and turned to the second page. On the left side, there was a gold border and two separate pictures of two different couples. One picture had the twin with purple eyes in a white dress with a boy. The boy had ear-length black hair and chocolate brown eyes. In the other picture was the other twin also in a white flowy dress, with a boy with golden-brown eyes and caramel brown hair. In both pictures, the couples were kissing and dancing together.

On the right page, it had wedding cakes and many other wedding scenes. On top of both of the pages it said:

_Love will follow._

_Though you may not know it._

_Once a friend…_

_Now a companion._

My parent's wedding day. Unsurprisingly, she shared it with her twin sister. I've never met my aunt; something happened that caused my mother and her sister to drift apart. Dumbledore wasn't able to find her when my parents died, so I was left with my current guardian.

With one last look at the happy couples, I closed the book and placed it back in my trunk. The sound of a bell told me it was now six and time for dinner. I debated for a time whether or not I should go, considering my rather rude outburst earlier, but the grumble of my stomach told me that I needed to.

"Hey, Kiera!" Goldstein said cheerily as I came down from the dormitories. "Where've you been all afternoon? I haven't seen you since lunch. Ready for dinner?"

Surprised from so many questions at once, I retreated back up the stairs a little ways. Goldstein, upon seeing that he startled me, immediately apologized.

"Sorry," the blond boy said quickly, "Didn't mean to scare you." He looked around awkwardly for a moment. "Do you want to come to dinner? Terry and Michael are already there."

I glanced back up the stairs, but it was too late to turn back now. "I, uh, sure."

Together, we trotted down the many steps to the ground floor. Other students walked and talked beside, and I saw a glimpse of white hair flash past me, but couldn't tell if it was Blyana or not. Not that I cared; she's the one that got me in trouble.

Unfortunately, Goldstein loved talking and he kept trying to fill in the awkward gaps of silence with small talk, but I wasn't exactly cooperating.

"So, when's your birthday?"

"April 22nd."

"Cool, mine's on January 3rd. Do you have a hobby?"

I paused, contemplating the question before answering. "None that I care to share."

"That's cool, that's cool. Wouldn't want to pressure you or anything." Goldstein rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.  
Another silence passed. I needed to say something; that's what the book I read on communication told me.

"Do you, I, uh, do you have a favorite color?" I think that is one of the dumbest questions I've ever asked in my entire life. Forget talking, I'd make a fool of myself if I said anything else.

"Yeah, actually, I like blue. Good thing I got into Ravenclaw, huh?"

I smiled at the joke. "Yes, I suppose it is."

"I am physically in pain by how awkward the two of you are." With a dramatic swish of his cape, a boy which I had met earlier, which I believed to be named Stephen Cornfoot stepped in front of his with his hand on his head as if in pain.

"Oi, shove off, Stephen." Another boy, Kevin Entwhistle I think, laughed and shoved his friend.

I nimbly stepped out of the way before Cornfoot could knock into me. Laughing, Cornfoot readjusted his stance and bowed to his "audience." Goldstein clapped and Entwhistle joined him with a roll of his eyes. The silly performance had actually caused a small smile to appear on my lips, so I clapped as well.

"Oh, thank you, thank you. I'll be here all term." Cornfoot grinned ear to ear at his applause. He clearly enjoyed the attention he was receiving.

"If you're done, I've saved a spot for us at the table." Out of nowhere, a brown-eyed girl popped up and gestured to the Ravenclaw table, where Boot, another boy, and the other girls were already sitting.

"Hey, Mandy!" Goldstein greeted the girl cheerfully. I trailed behind everyone as we sat down at the table, trying to remember names and put them to faces before I embarrassed myself.

"Padma, I was wondering if you understood the Wand-Lighting Charm, _Lumos_, I believe. Professor Quirrell was stuttering so much, I could barely decipher a word of it," a small girl with silky black hair asked the taller girl next to her. I think her name is Sue Li, and the other one was Padma Patil, but I could be wrong.

"No, I was having a hard time too. Did anyone else get it?" Patil looked around at the table, but everyone shook their heads at the question.

"Well, I, uh, may be able to help," I spoke up softly. Everyone turned to look at me and I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, making sure not to look them in the eyes. "When lessons finished for the day, I went to the library because the textbook was too vague for my understanding. I found a charms book," I reached into my bag, pulled out said book, and placed it on the table for others to see, "And I looked it up. Our wand motions were correct, but our pronunciation was wrong." I flipped to the page with the spell on it and pointed to the section on pronunciation.

"Wow," Goldstein commented, "You're a brighter Ravenclaw than the rest of us. That's the second time you've helped us today."

My cheeks turned the brightest shade of pink possible at the praise. I wasn't used to being recognized for anything besides my potion brewing skills.

I gave them the book to look through. Boot noticed the other spells on the page and whistled in amazement.

"These spells are way advanced, why is _Lumos _even in here?" He asked, looking at me as he gave the book to Goldstein. I knew what he was talking about; all the spells in there were far too advanced for first years without instructions. I've experienced that first hand, and let's just say I will never do that again.

"The book is a thorough and in-depth look into every light-generating spell. I've already flipped through it, and the Wand-Lighting Charm is the simplest," I explained.

"Incredible," Li said appreciatively, making my cheeks redden again.

"Psst Kiera," the voice came out of nowhere as I passed the book down the table, to help my fellow first years. "Psst Keria" I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to find a tall boy, at least for an eleven-year-old, behind me squatting, so no one would see him.

"Briar, what in Merlin's name are you doing here?" The boy made a hand motion to get out of the crowded room.

Once we got out of the room, Briar blurted everything out at once. "Blyanaismissing, I've asked everyone, but nobody has seen her."

"Briar!" I interrupted him. He was going off on a tangent and it was getting hard to understand him. "Slow down, I can't understand you."

"Blyana's gone, I can't find her and nobodies seen her since this afternoon. I'm really worried, especially after you both blew up at us and ran off. What if she went into the Forbidden Forest? Or the third-floor corridor? Or-"

"Okay, okay, calm down. I'm sure Professor Dumbledore and the other teachers can find her," I tried to say reassuringly, but I think it came out wrong because he gave me an annoyed look.

"Sorry, I'm really worried, she was the first friend I made here and I don't want anything to happen to her." It was obvious they had a deep relationship with each other as friends. His head was down and his features changed from annoyed to sad and droopy.

"Do you want to tell Dumbledore?" I asked to fill the awkward silence. He shot up and gave me a strange look.

"Are you crazy? We couldn't take a risk like that, she could easily get in trouble. Sometimes you can't always rely on the adults."

"But you guys are in different houses, why would you care?" The concept was foreign to myself, especially since he was a Slytherin, but the look on his face told me that was not the case for him.

"Didn't I already tell you that she was the first friend I made here?" He grabbed my hands and shot a warmth up my arms that made my face go hot. "Look you are my only hope."

"I, gah," I stuttered. Red alert, red alert! A boy is touching me, I repeat, a boy is touching me! To prevent me from making a stuttering fool of myself, I withdrew my hands from his. "I suppose I can help, but I don't know how much use I will be."

"Great! I'll be right back to tell my prefect, you should probably do the same and get that book back before it is torn to pieces." He laughed and slipped back in through the big doors.

"What have I gotten myself into?" I groaned.


End file.
